top1
/tɒp
/noun
1 [usually in singular] The highest or uppermost point, part, or surface of something: Doreen stood at the top of the stairs fill the cup almost to the top [in combination]: the springy turf of the clifftop...
- I feel a few gentle taps on the top of my head, and look up to see a man looking down at me.
- The redhead was more composed, sitting cross-legged in a way that only just allowed the kilt to cover the tops of her thighs, hands in her lap to prevent me getting a better view.
- He tugged his hat down, covering the tops of his ears and his eyebrows.
Synonyms
summit, peak, pinnacle, crest, crown, brow, brink, ridge, head, highest point/part, mountaintop, tip, apex, vertex, acme, apogee
upper part, upper surface, upper layer
1.1 (usually tops) The leaves, stems, and shoots of a plant, especially those of a vegetable grown for its root: some growers snip off the carrot’s green tops in the field...
- Be sure to pinch back the flowering tops of basil plants to keep them from going to seed too early in the season.
- Marijuana or marihuana is a drug obtained from the flowering tops, stems, and leaves of the hemp plant (cannabis sativa).
- When the tops of the carrots grow thicker, thin them to about two to three inches apart.
Synonyms
leaves, shoots, stem, stalk
1.2chiefly British The uppermost creamy layer of milk.Not only did I detest the smell, the skin that formed on the top of the milk almost made me physically sick....
- Use a large spoon or dipper to take the cream from the top of the milk.
- For my brother and me there was no greater treat than the top of the milk on our breakfast porridge.
2A thing or part placed on, fitted to, or covering the upper part of something, in particular:
2.1A garment covering the upper part of the body and worn with a skirt, trousers, or shorts: he was wearing a hooded top she bought a couple of new tops...
- They were both wearing short skirts and halter tops.
- Every body shape imaginable was squeezed into super short skirts and super tight tops with plunging necklines.
- Jersey makes a big comeback this season in tops, skirts and trousers.
2.2A lid, cover, or cap: beer-bottle tops...
- Beer bottle tops will do nicely, if you can't bring yourself to use your Royal College cuff links or the earrings you bought on your most recent trip to Monte Carlo.
- Stopper corks with plastic tops are used for some wines, particularly fortified wines and some sweet wines, a single bottle of which may be consumed over an extended period.
- He opened his own can with a hiss of escaping gas as Crystal removed the top of her water bottle.
Synonyms
lid, cap, cover, stopper, cork, bung, plug
2.3(In a sailing ship) a platform around the head of each of the lower masts, serving to extend the topmast rigging.Above is another fifty feet of climbing, as the shrouds (ropes) which are attached to the top narrow down to the point where there is no longer room for your foot unless you turn it sideways.
3 (the top) The highest or most important rank, level, or position: her talent will take her right to the top the people at the top must be competent...
- This triumph leaves them in a comfortable position at the top of the table.
- It's a school in an area of boarded-up houses and it doesn't rank at the top of national league tables.
- The prospect of mass tourism ranks at the top of her list of nightmares.
Synonyms
high point, height, peak, pinnacle, zenith, acme, culmination, climax, crowning point, prime, meridian;
success
3.1The utmost degree or the highest level: she shouted at the top of her voice...
- The Officer shouted at the top of his voice: ‘One.Two.Three.’
- I surf every day and need to be at the top of my fitness to face the challenge of big waves.
Synonyms
highest level, utmost extent
3.2 (tops) informal A person or thing regarded as particularly good: professionally you’re the tops...
- Results from Vodafone's mobile phone recycling scheme show that Sligo and Cork are tops when it comes to mobile phone recycling.
- Cork Harlequins are rated tops in the country for they have a sweet balance of skill and power in their team.
3.3British The highest gear of a motor vehicle: long gradients can be surmounted in top...
- You're already in top, on the highway doing 70, and the engine sounds as if it needs another gear, so you try to change up but you're already in top!
- Be brave and you'll be able to come to a stop in top, dipping the clutch just before stopping.
3.4 [mass noun] The high-frequency component of reproduced sound.It shows you how to use the bass, mid and top when mixing.
4chiefly British The end of something that is furthest from the speaker or a point of reference: the bus shelter at the top of the road...
- I looked up towards the top of the road and saw a silver Mercedes haring down.
- Even worse, because it is a wide pavement they will use this and drive straight up to the top of the road irrespective of pedestrians.
- Apparently someone out there beyond the top of Morningside Road wants to demutualise the whole thing.
5 short for topspin.For some players that can manage a fast swing speed, put top on the ball, and have it land in, they may not be overhitting....
- Flat returns were a little harder for me with all the power, but if I put a little extra ‘top’ on the ball it felt fine.
6 (usually tops) A bundle of long wool fibres prepared for spinning.She started off with wool tops in sliver form....
- Dyed merino tops are perfect for hand spinning and felting projects.
- Wensleydale top is the ultimate in luxurious spinning fibres.
7 [mass noun] Physics One of six flavours of quark.Physicists had known that the top must exist since 1977, when its partner, the bottom, was discovered. But the top proved exasperatingly hard to find.
adjective [attributive]
1Highest in position, rank, or degree: the top button of his shirt a top executive...
- Early release is being re-examined by the Executive as a top priority.
- The county's ambulance service has been ranked among the top performers in the speed of its response to patients.
- Those in top positions tend to fear that statements made on television on the spur of the moment may land them in the dock.
Synonyms
highest, topmost, uppermost, upmost, upper, furthest up, loftiest
foremost, leading, top-tier, principal, pre-eminent, greatest, finest, worthiest, highest, elite, A-list
informal top-notch
chief, principal, main, leading, highest, high, high-ranking, ruling, commanding;
most powerful, most important, prominent, eminent, notable, illustrious
prime, excellent, superb, superior, choice, select, elite, quality, top-quality, top-grade, first-rate, first-class, top-class, high-grade, grade A, best, finest, premier, choicest, superlative, unsurpassed, unexcelled, unparalleled, peerless, second to none;
British top of the range;
chiefly US top of the line
informal A1, top-notch, ace, crack
maximum, maximal, greatest, topmost, utmost
2chiefly British Furthest away from the speaker or a point of reference: the top end of Fulham Road...
- Although the map shows that a bomb also fell towards the top end of Stapley Road, the map indicates that it was not near a corner or junction.
- At the top end of the car park you will find our designated parking area.
verb (tops, topping, topped) [with object]
1Exceed (an amount, level, or number); be more than: losses are expected to top £100 m this year...
- Quarterly figures, published yesterday, show that for the first time, discrimination claims on race grounds topped the number of gender discrimination claims.
- In the third quarter, the number of unemployed topped the record level of 1991, when huge numbers of immigrants from the former Soviet Union came to Israel.
- With the way the economy is going now, we hope to top those numbers but that remains to be seen.
Synonyms
exceed, surpass, go beyond, transcend, better, best, beat, defeat, excel, outstrip, outdo, outshine, eclipse, surmount, improve on, go one better than, cap, trump, trounce
1.1Be at the highest place or rank in (a list, poll, or league): her debut album topped the charts for five weeks...
- Recent mainstream media polls show issues such as health and rural matters topping the list of public concerns about the performance of the government.
- Quitting smoking tops the wish list for New Year resolutions and Swindon Primary Care Trust is working hard to help people turn their smoke-free dreams into a reality.
- He was elected an alderman of Limerick City Council in the 1999 local elections when he topped the poll with over 900 votes in Ward 3.
Synonyms
lead, head, be first in, be at the top of
1.2Be taller than: he topped her by several inches...
- Cyril was a tall man, easily topping Johen's height by a head or more, and he had passed that height on to his son Martin.
1.3Surpass (a person or previous achievement); outdo: he was baffled as to how he could top his past work...
- There are some examples of child actors who manage to stay in movies as adults, sometimes even topping their early achievements.
- Jim of Automotive News narrowly topped Anthony Rowley of the Singapore Business Times in a close race.
- The question of how Rafa Benitez can ever top this achievement can be left for another day.
1.4Appear as the chief performer or attraction at: Hopper topped a great night of boxing...
- While Ignatov topped the show, perhaps Airjazz stole it.
- Sting, who is to receive an honour for his outstanding contribution to music, will top the show, which is to be presented by a male-female double-act for the first time since 1990.
- Veteran rockers Queen, along with Razorlight and Simple Minds, will top the entertainment line-up.
2Provide with a top or topping: toast topped with baked beans...
- Tomorrow, that brick wall might be topped with razor wire, and those privacy screens might all be made illegal in the name of National Security.
- Some changes are small: in some schools, pizza is now topped with low-fat cheese and French fries are baked, not fried.
- Down the driveway, high electronic gates protect the building and the pale grey walls are topped with rolled razor wire.
Synonyms
cover, cap, crown, coat, overspread, finish, garnish
2.1Complete (an outfit) with an upper garment, hat, or item of jewellery: a white dress topped by a dark cardigan...
- His snowy white shirt was topped by a burgundy waistcoat which, amazingly enough, matched her gown almost perfectly, and he wore a black cravat around his neck.
- Elegantly styled trousers are topped by a sporty leather jacket.
- Croatian men wear white shirts topped with a colored vest or jacket.
2.2Remove the top of (a vegetable or fruit) in preparation for cooking: I use the sharp edge of an old butcher’s knife for topping and the back of the blade for cleaning the roots...
- I had my first jobs when I was in kindergarten picking apples, topping onions and catching cabbage butterflies.
- Wash and top the radishes.
- Wash and top the strawberries, then blend until smooth.
3Reach the top of (a hill or other elevation): they topped a rise and began a slow descent...
- We topped a hill, and another, until we were on a steep north-facing slope that dropped off to the Yellowstone River.
- I was still winning as we topped the hill and headed down.
- We were doing about 45 miles per hour when we topped that hill and saw a 2-ton truck 30 feet in front of us.
Synonyms
reach the top of, crest, climb, scale, ascend, mount, conquer
4British informal Kill: I wasn’t sorry when he topped himself...
- Al will play a detective who accidentally tops his partner during a murder investigation and is then blackmailed by the killer.
- ‘I don't know how to say this, other than I think she topped him,’ says a doctor.
- The killer gets away and Dormer lets the assumption stand that the brutal murderer also topped his partner.
5 Golf Mishit (the ball or a stroke) by hitting above the centre of the ball: he topped his drive on the fifth hole (as adjective topped) sliced and topped shots...
- But when I play even a friendly match with someone else, I end up topping the ball and slicing terribly.
- The first thing I noted about Chris was his tendency to top the ball.
- If you're topping or slicing the ball, the problem could be your knees.
adverb (tops) informal
At the most: some civil servant earning twenty-eight thousand a year, tops...
- These are simple enough to prepare in 25 minutes tops, giving busy cooks a welcome break from the kitchen.
- I slept for maybe three hours tops.
Phrases
be at the top of one's game
from top to bottom
from top to toe
from the top
get on top of
off the top of one's head
on top
on top of
on top of the world
top and tail
top dollar
top of the morning
the top of the tree
top ten (or twenty etc.)
to top it all
up top
Phrasal verbs
top something off
top out
top something out
top someone up
top something up
Origin
Late Old English topp (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch top 'summit, crest'.
Found in Old English, a child's toy, related to tip; came from Old Norse in Middle English. The expression to go over the top originated in the First World War, when it described troops in the trenches charging over the parapets to attack the enemy. It gradually developed the meaning ‘to do something to an excessive or exaggerated degree’, possibly in reference to the huge numbers of soldiers who died in the conflict. Soon people were shortening it to simply over the top, and since the early 1980s it has been reduced even further to the abbreviation OTT, particularly when referring to acting. See also sleep
Rhymes
top2
/tɒp/noun
1 (also spinning top) A conical, spherical, or pear-shaped toy that with a quick or vigorous twist may be set to spin.Boys play marbles, spin tops, fly kites, and play such games as kabaddi (team wrestling)....
- We liked hurling tops and see them spin, jump and hiss.
- Atoms have spin; replace the tops with atoms and now you're imagining a basic quantum computer!
2Used in names of top shells, e.g. strawberry top.
Origin
Late Old English, of unknown origin.
Top 403
plural noun
The forty most popular songs of a given time period.We'd have waited until Sunday and recorded the songs off The Top 40 if it had been us....
- Like the shift from network radio to the rise of independent stations, Top 40 happened quickly, between 1955 and '57.
- … The Internet means exposure, and these days, unless you're in the Top 40, you're not getting on the radio.
adjective
Made up of, or broadcasting the Top 40: a Top 40 countdown...
- The Top 40 countdown is at about number six when I flick over, so I get to see what's at top of the charts (which I have given up following for the last year or two).
- We're moving closer to No.1 in our preseason Top 40 countdown.
- When she's not in the perfume factory, club hopping or filming her reality series ‘The Simple Life,’ Hilton has also recently recorded an album and her first single is already a hit on Top 40 radio stations.