Meaning of top In English

• 0 the highest place or part:

  • She waited for me at the top of the stairs.

  • There were flags on the tops of many of the buildings.

  • There was a pile of books on top of (= on) the table.

  • The top of the table/desk was badly scratched.

• 1 any piece of light clothing worn on the part of the body above the waist:

  • a skimpy top

  • a pyjama top

  • I need a top to go with these trousers.

• 2 the cover or lid used to close a container or pen:

  • a screw-on top

  • a bottle top

  • a pen top

• 3 the most important position in a group or organization:

  • At 40, he was at the top of his profession.

  • Life at the top is stressful.

• 4 a spinning top

• 5 a piece of jewellery, usually one of a pair, worn in a hole in the ear or fastened to the ear by a clip; an earring

• 6 the leaves of a vegetable plant grown mainly for its roots:

  • We fed the rabbit some beetroot tops.

  • If you put carrot tops in water they start to grow.

• 7 at the highest part of something:

  • There's a dirty mark on the top left-hand corner of the picture.

  • The offices are on the top floor of the building.

  • He was standing on the top rung of a ladder.

  • The ball curled into the top corner of the net.

• 8 in the part nearest to the highest part; in the upper part:

  • The top few steps were damaged and broken.

• 9 (in the position of being) most important or successful; best:

  • So what would be your top choice of a place to go on holiday?

  • As a chess player he's among the top ten percent in the country.

  • top athletes/executives

  • top jobs

  • top schools

  • The train thundered through the station at top speed.

  • She came top (of the class) in English.

  • Sam was top at/in Science.

  • Paul's back on top form after his illness.

• 10 excellent:

  • "How was your party?" "Top, mate."

  • "You coming, then? " "Yeah, top!"

• 11 to be on the upper surface of something, especially as a decoration:

  • The dessert was topped off with whipped cream and pieces of fruit.

• 12 to be the most important, most successful, etc.:

  • The song topped the charts (= sold the largest number of recordings) for five weeks.

  • She topped the bill (= was the most important act in the show).

• 13 to do, pay, etc. more or better than anyone else:

  • "They've offered me £1,000." "I'm afraid we can't top that."

  • She topped my suggestion with an even better one of her own.

• 14 to kill yourself

• 15 used with many different words to mean "best":

  • a top-class athlete

  • top-ranking officers

• 16 the highest point, place, or part:

  • We set out for the top of the mountain at daybreak.

  • The book was on (the) top of the table (= on the upper surface of the table).

• 17 a cover or lid used to close a container:

  • a bottle top

• 18 a toy with rounded sides that you can spin on a point at its bottom

• 19 a piece of clothing worn esp. by women on the part of the body above the waist:

  • I’m looking for a matching top to go with this skirt.

• 20 the most important or successful position in a group or organization:

  • At forty he was at the top of (= one of the leaders of) his profession.

• 21 in the highest or upper part:

  • She tripped over the top step and nearly fell.

  • The pages are numbered on the top right-hand corner (= on the upper right surface of the page).

• 22 (in the position of being) at the highest level of importance, achievement, or success; best:

  • It was rated among the ten top universities in the nation.

  • She’s one of the top executives in the fashion industry.

  • As a chess player, he’s among the top 10% in the country.

  • top-ranked athletes

  • top-rated bonds

  • top-seeded tennis players

• 23 to be more than:

  • The school building fund now tops $180,000.

• 24 to do, pay, etc. more than anyone else; to make something more or better:

  • "They’ve offered me $1000." "I’m afraid we can’t top (= offer more than) that."

• 25 the most important or successful position in an organization, activity, etc.:

  • He worked hard and quickly reached the top of his profession.

  • Congratulations on your promotion - how are you enjoying life at the top?

• 26 to be able to use your skills and abilities to a very high level, and even more than you have done previously:

  • She's 55 and at the top of her game as an entrepreneur.

• 27 to be the winner in a competitive situation:

  • The company that drops its prices first will come out on top.

• 28 at all levels in a company, including the most important managers:

  • There have been mutiple failures, from the top down.

  • From the top down, staff are remarkably optimistic.

  • Change has been imposed from the top down.

• 29 in addition to something:

  • When we came to pay for the goods, there was a delivery charge on top.

  • We expect sales to rise by 6% on top of last year's growth.

  • The company's in financial trouble and on top of that they're losing key staff.

  • be/get/stay on top of sth Management needs to get on top of the problem quickly.

• 30 →  front of mind

• 31 most important or successful in an organization, activity, etc.:

  • We have a meeting with the company's top managers.

  • She's applying for a range of top jobs in the field.

  • He graduated from one of the top universities in the country.

• 32 in the highest position or rank:

  • My office is on the top floor of the building.

  • top 10/50/100, etc. A number of Fortune Magazine's top 500 companies maintain headquarters or major facilities in New Jersey.

• 33 very successfully:

  • a top performing/top achieving company

• 34 to do something better than you did previously, or better than someone else:

  • The sales team are aiming to top last year's performance.

  • The figures topped last year's results by 15%.

• 35 to be more than a particular number or amount:

  • Visits to the website are now topping 5,000 per day.

• 36 to be in the highest position in a list or rank:

  • They top the list of high-performing investments.