Topman
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The man stationed in the top on a sailing vessel, responsible for the setting of the sails
"There, when not actually engaged on the yards yet higher aloft, the topmen, who as such had been picked out for youth and activity, constituted an aerial club lounging at ease against the smaller stun'sails rolled up into cushions, spinning yarns like the lazy gods, and frequently amused with what was going on in the busy world of the decks below."
- 2 The uppermost sawyer in a sawpit; a topsman.
- 3 A top, dom.
"Back in the alcove I watched as a bearded daddy type whipped a guy who was bent over the sawhorse. The topman kept the tip of his tongue poked between his lips like a little kid hard at work in a coloring book."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"There, when not actually engaged on the yards yet higher aloft, the topmen, who as such had been picked out for youth and activity, constituted an aerial club lounging at ease against the smaller stun'sails rolled up into cushions, spinning yarns like the lazy gods, and frequently amused with what was going on in the busy world of the decks below."
Etymology
From top + -man.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.