peaker

English

Etymology

peak +‎ -er

Noun

peaker (plural peakers)

1. That which reaches or forms a peak.
   • 1912 June, A. I. Steven, “The Composition of Two Simple Harmonic Motions exhibited by a Stretched String”, in London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine, volume 23, number 138, page 979:

     The amplitude was sufficiently large to enable one to see the string take the shape of the compounded wave, but as the phase difference between the two vibrations changed rapidly, the visual impression was of a three-peaker curve.

   • 2016, E. G. Rowland ·, Hill Walking in Snowdonia, page 19:

     L of them, Tryfan is clearly a three peaker from this angle, and the Glyders with their two outliers (16) complete the circle.

2. One whose behaviour or performance reaches a maximum (of something) at a particular time.
   • 1986, Royal Egyptian Medical Association, The Journal of the Egyptian Medical Association - Volume 69, page 375:

     All patients and controls who achieved maximum PHA response on day six or later were called " late peakers" , and those who achieved maximum PHA response on day four or earlier were called "early peakers" .

   • 2004, Sally Kus, Coaching Volleyball Successfully, page 40:

     These are the teams the program team has to watch out for. They're the peakers.

   • 2009, Joanne Savage, The Development of Persistent Criminality:

     In general, those subjects classified as rare offenders or moderate late peakers (approximately 70% of the sample) were significantly less likely than those on the high-level chronic trajectory to be male, to have poor academic achievement, to have low social support from family, to experience stressful life events, and to use alcohol or other substances.

3. A power station that provides energy supply only during peak usage periods.
   • 2000, Richard F. Kosobud, Douglas L. Schreder, Holly M. Biggs, Emissions Trading: Environmental Policy's New Approach, page 281:

     The most common peaking units or "peakers" are electricity generating units that run during times of high electricity consumption.

   • 2013, Gerard M. Crawley, The World Scientific Handbook of Energy, page 72:

     Peakers can be brought on line at full capacity quickly to help meet peak electricity demands as well as to satisfy normal demands during scheduled and unscheduled shutdowns at base-load plants.

4. One who climbs to the peak of one or more mountains.
   • 2012, David Charles, The Soles of My Shoes: Hitch-hiking London to Ben Nevis, page 85:

     'Good work, team, good work! ... We meet a long trail of Three Peakers doing their first mountain.

5. One who is open to peak experiences.
   • 2001, Peter Connolly, Approaches to the Study of Religion, page 157:

     Interestingly, in terms of his hierarchy of human potential, Maslow locates these 'peakers' between the self-actualizers who have peak experiences and those who do not.

   • 2006, Elizabeth MacKinlay, Aging, Spirituality and Palliative Care, page 95:

     Whereas peakers emphasize creativity, personal growth, and non-institutionalized forms of religious experiences, “non-peakers” value the practicality of everyday life, worldly success, and tradition (Maslow, 1970).

   • 2011, Susan Hallam, Ian Cross, Michael Thaut, Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology:

     Peakers appear to display a general willingness to explore and experience states of consciousness differing from their usual states of being and are 'open' in the broadest sense of the word.

Derived terms

• peaker plant

Anagrams

• parkee