What does "top" mean?
The highest or uppermost part of something.
Top
/tɒp/ adj, adv, intj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The highest or uppermost part of something.
- Grammar: top is listed as adj, adv, intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cover, crest, crown, peak.
- Useful contrasts: basal, base units, bottom.
- Usage evidence: And on top of it all, I was fired.
How to use "top"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "top" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "top" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "top" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "top" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "top" is acting as adj, adv, intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cover" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "top", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The highest or uppermost part of something. countable, uncountable
"His kite got caught at the top of the tree."
- 2 a canvas tent to house the audience at a circus performance wordnet
- 3 The highest or uppermost part of something.; The part of something that is usually highest or uppermost. countable, uncountable
"We flipped the machine onto its top."
- 4 a garment (especially for women) that extends from the shoulders to the waist or hips wordnet
- 5 The highest or uppermost part of something.; The uppermost part of a page, picture, viewing screen, etc. countable, uncountable
"Further weather information can be found at the top of your television screen."
Show 37 more definitions
- 6 covering for a hole (especially a hole in the top of a container) wordnet
- 7 The highest or uppermost part of something.; A lid, cap, or cover of a container. countable, uncountable
"Put a top on the toothpaste tube or it will go bad."
- 8 a conical child's plaything tapering to a steel point on which it can be made to spin wordnet
- 9 The highest or uppermost part of something.; A garment worn to cover the torso. countable, uncountable
"I bought this top as it matches my jeans."
- 10 platform surrounding the head of a lower mast wordnet
- 11 The highest or uppermost part of something.; A framework at the top of a ship's mast to which rigging is attached. countable, uncountable
- 12 the greatest possible intensity wordnet
- 13 The highest or uppermost part of something.; The first half of an inning, during which the home team fields and the visiting team bats. countable, uncountable
- 14 the top or extreme point of something (usually a mountain or hill) wordnet
- 15 The highest or uppermost part of something.; The crown of the head, or the hair upon it; the head. archaic, countable, uncountable
"Like glauncing light of Phoebus brightest ray; From top to toe no place appeared bare"
- 16 the highest or uppermost side of anything wordnet
- 17 The near end of somewhere. countable, uncountable
"The patio is at the top of my garden."
- 18 the upper part of anything wordnet
- 19 A child's spinning toy; a spinning top. countable, uncountable
"The boy was amazed at how long the top would spin."
- 20 the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development wordnet
- 21 Someone who is eminent.; The chief person; the most prominent one. archaic, countable, uncountable
"to be the top of zealots"
- 22 the first half of an inning; while the visiting team is at bat wordnet
- 23 Someone who is eminent.; The highest rank; the most honourable position; the utmost attainable place. countable, uncountable
"to be at the top of one's class, or at the top of the school"
- 24 A peak price of a security during a trading period, before it begins a downward trend. countable, uncountable
"the daily average price of packer and shipper purchases ranging between $14 and $16. Beginning with the middle of September prices moved sharply upward until a top of $18.25 was reached during the week of Sept. 25. From this high point prices moved downward sharply […]"
- 25 A dominant partner in a sadomasochistic relationship or roleplay. countable, uncountable
"As I went on doing s/m more and more, I found the idea of topping real attractive and so I started to do that. At this point in my life I'm playing top almost all the time."
- 26 A dominant partner in a sadomasochistic relationship or roleplay.; A dominant partner in a sexual relationship. broadly, countable, uncountable
- 27 A person who penetrates or has a preference for penetrating during intercourse. countable, uncountable
"I prefer being a top, and my boyfriend prefers being a bottom."
- 28 Fellatio; a blowjob. Multicultural-London-English, countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar
"Running up a check, I'ma drop the top Baby gimme neck, you know I want some top You ain't tryna fuck, then baby don't just stop"
- 29 A top quark. countable, particle, uncountable
- 30 The utmost degree; the acme; the summit. countable, uncountable
"June 18 1714, Alexander Pope, letter to Jonathan Swift The top of my own ambition is to contribute to that work."
- 31 A plug or conical block of wood with longitudinal grooves on its surface, in which the strands of the rope slide in the process of twisting. countable, uncountable
- 32 Highest pitch or loudest volume. countable, uncountable
"She sang at the top of her voice."
- 33 A bundle or ball of slivers of combed wool, from which the noils, or dust, have been taken out. countable, uncountable
"Most cotton is sold as top, requiring only predrafting prior to spinning."
- 34 Eve; verge; point. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Hee was upon the top of his marriage with Magdalaine."
- 35 The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface. countable, uncountable
- 36 Topboots. countable, dated, in-plural, slang, uncountable
"There was one pair of boots in particular — a jolly, good-tempered, hearty-looking, pair of tops, that excited our warmest regard"
- 37 A stroke on the top of the ball. countable, uncountable
- 38 A forward spin given to the ball by hitting it on or near the top; topspin. countable, uncountable
"What is wanted is just the reverse - i.e top or overspin, which causes the ball to revolve in the direction in which it is going."
- 39 (A table at which there is, or which has enough seats for) a group of a specified number of people eating at a restaurant. countable, uncountable
"[…] but with only three other tables on the patio apart from myself – two three-tops and a five-top – it's hard to imagine what the holdup is."
- 40 Ellipsis of topswarm. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"My first topswarm came off on the 25th June, and a second top on the day following; both were put into skeps of one size, and appeared to be equal as regards the number of Bees."
- 41 The First Sergeant or Master Sergeant (U.S. Marine Corps), senior enlisted man at company level. countable, uncountable
- 42 a shoot (eaten as a vegetable). Philippines, countable, plural-normally, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To cover on the top or with a top.
"I like my ice cream topped with chocolate sauce."
- 2 finish up or conclude wordnet
- 3 To exceed in height.
"Five were proper slender youths, the eldest of whom had not yet beard full grown, black-browed and great of jaw; the sixth, huge as a neat, topped them by half a head."
- 4 be the culminating event wordnet
- 5 To excel, to surpass, to beat, to exceed.
"Titanic was the most successful film ever until it was topped by another Cameron film, Avatar."
Show 24 more definitions
- 6 cut the top off wordnet
- 7 To be in the lead, to be at number one position (of).
"Celine Dion topped the UK music charts twice in the 1990s."
- 8 strike (the top part of a ball in golf, baseball, or pool) giving it a forward spin wordnet
- 9 To cut or remove the top (as of a tree)
"I don't want to be bald, so just top my hair."
- 10 reach or ascend the top of wordnet
- 11 To commit suicide. Australia, British, reflexive, slang
"Depression causes many people to top themselves."
- 12 pass by, over, or under without making contact wordnet
- 13 To murder or execute. Australia, British, archaic, rare, slang
"Thirty-six were cast for death, and only one was ‘topped’ (hanged), the very one that expected to be ‘turned up’ (acquitted) for highway robbery."
- 14 provide with a top or finish the top (of a structure) wordnet
- 15 To be the dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay.
"I used to be a slave, but I ended up topping."
- 16 be superior or better than some standard wordnet
- 17 To penetrate during sexual intercourse. intransitive, transitive
- 18 be ahead of others; be the first wordnet
- 19 To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower. archaic
"topping passions"
- 20 be at the top of or constitute the top or highest point wordnet
- 21 To excel; to rise above others. archaic
- 22 To raise one end of (a yard, etc.), making it higher than the other.
- 23 To cover with another dye.
"to top aniline black with methyl violet to prevent greening"
- 24 To put a stiffening piece or back on (a saw blade).
- 25 To arrange (fruit, etc.) with the best on top. dated, slang
- 26 To strike the top of (an obstacle) with the hind feet while jumping, so as to gain new impetus.
- 27 To improve (domestic animals, especially sheep) by crossing certain individuals or breeds with other superior breeds.
- 28 To cut, break, or otherwise take off the top of (a steel ingot) to remove unsound metal.
- 29 To strike (the ball) above the centre; also, to make (a stroke, etc.) by hitting the ball in this way.
Adjective
- 1 Situated on the top of something. not-comparable
- 2 Best; of the highest quality, fame or rank. informal, not-comparable
"She's in the top dance school."
- 3 Very good, of high quality, power, or rank. informal, not-comparable
"He's a top lawyer."
- 4 Relating to the chest or breasts. not-comparable
"top surgery"
Adjective
- 1 situated at the top or highest position wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Best, highest. not-comparable
"Our product is top-rated on all major platforms."
Intj
- 1 The signal among tailors and seamstresses for snuffing the candle. The last of them to cry "top" had to snuff the candle. obsolete
"My hairs, you perceive, are grown grey in following our sublime trade: full many a time have I cried top in the winter, the first of all the gentlemen on the board; and many a time has it fallen to my lot to apply the snuffers, and take off the filthy excrescence from the candle myself, but never before, in the experience of fifty long years, was it thought that English tailors were inferior to foreign ones."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"And on top of it all, I was fired."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "top"?
Common synonyms include: cover, crest, crown, peak, spinning top, summit.
How do you use "top" in a sentence?
And on top of it all, I was fired.
How do you pronounce "top"?
Pronounced /tɒp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English top, toppe, from Old English topp (“top, highest part; summit; crest; tassel, tuft; (spinning) top, ball; a tuft or ball at the highest point of anything”), from Proto-West Germanic *topp, from Proto-Germanic *tuppaz (“braid, pigtail, end”), of unknown ultimate origin. Compare typologically Latin apex (<< Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“to join, attach, fasten, fit”)). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Top (“top”), Cimbrian sòpf (“braid”), Dutch top (“top, summit, peak”), German Topp (“top of a mast”), Zopf (“braid, pigtail, plait, top”), Luxembourgish Zapp (“plait, tress”), Vilamovian cöp (“braid, plait”), Yiddish צאָפּ (tsop, “braid”), Danish top (“top”), Icelandic toppur (“top”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish topp (“top, peak, summit, tip”), Italian zuffa (“brawl”). The sense of a spinning toy is separated from this, obscurely related to Dutch top and dop in this sense, against Standard Dutch tol, and French toupie having this sense.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Dutch and German Top.