Surmount
[sər-ˈmau̇nt]
Part of speech: verb
Origin: Middle English, mid 14th century
1.
To overcome a difficult task
2.
To summit, as a mountain peak
3.
To stand or place on top of
Examples of Surmount in a sentence
"Together, there are no obstacles we can't surmount."
"Lamar always dreamed that one day he'd surmount Lion's Peak, the highest mountain in the state."
About Surmount
The world's tallest mountain is, of course, Mount Everest. It tops out at 29,029 feet in elevation. However, Everest is actually not considered the most dangerous peak to surmount. That designation belongs to Annapurna, also in the Himalayas. It has a fatality-to-summit ratio of 32%. That means that anyone trying to reach the summit has a one-in-three chance of it costing them their life.
Did you Know?
Surmount is a great example of a word whose original literal meaning, to climb, has expanded to include a figurative meaning, to overcome.
