Definition of "top"

top

/tɒp/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural tops
1. The highest or uppermost part of something.
  Quotations
  But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. […] The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, […].
  1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […]
  1. (irrespective of present orientation) the part of something that is usually the top.
    Quotations
    To mount the V8, I simply placed it on its top, and then prepped the mobo/CPU for installation (applied thermal compound).
    2013 March 20, Dewayne Carel, “Cooler Master V8 CPU Cooler”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎, retrieved 1 October 2017
  2. The uppermost part of a page, picture, viewing screen, etc.
  3. A lid, cap or cover of a container.
  4. A garment worn to cover the torso.
  5. A framework at the top of a ship's mast to which rigging is attached.
  6. (baseball) The first half of an inning, during which the home team fields and the visiting team bats.
  7. (archaic) The crown of the head, or the hair upon it; the head.
    Quotations
    Like glauncing light of Phoebus brightest ray;From top to toe no place appeared bare
    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, stanza 39
    All the stored vengeances of Heaven fall / On her ungrateful top!
    c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene ii]
2. The near end of somewhere
3. A child’s spinning toy; a spinning top.
4. (heading) Someone who is eminent.
  1. (archaic) The chief person; the most prominent one.
    Quotations
    to be the top of zealots
    1649, J[ohn] Milton, ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […]
  2. The highest rank; the most honourable position; the utmost attainable place.
    Quotations
    And wears upon his baby brow the round / And top of sovereignty.
    c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene i]
    After drawing their first game in Kiev the Potters are now top of Europa League Group E ahead of back-to-back games with Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
    2011 September 29, Tom Rostance, “Stoke 2-1 Besiktas”, in BBC Sport
5. (BDSM) A dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay.
6. (gay slang) A man, who penetrates or has a preference for penetrating during homosexual intercourse.
  Quotations
  Jean-Alain is a man of great physical strength, and Jesse is sure he is quite a handful for his tops.
  2020, Paul Mendez, Rainbow Milk, Dialogue Books (2021), page 336
7. (slang, vulgar, African-American Vernacular, MLE, MTE) Oral stimulation of the male member; a blowjob.
  Quotations
  Running up a check, I'ma drop the topBaby gimme neck, you know I want some topYou ain't tryna fuck, then baby don't just stop
  2016 November 18, J $tash (lyrics and music), “Guap”, in No More Distractions‎
  I get some top in my coupe […]Look at yo bitch she gon' choose She gon' give me top (on my block Avenue)
  2017, Juice Wrld (lyrics and music), “2017 Freestyle”, in Unreleased Songs‎
  I just bought a new Ferrari off the lot, said she a virgin but she wanna give me top, she need some money so she call my phone a lot, I picked it up and then I told that bitch to stop.
  2017, T-Wayne (lyrics and music), “Double Standards” (track 2, 0:42–0:55 from the start), in Forever Rickey
  Man chingy chingy on opps,catch ringy ringy, want lotsAnd clingy, clingy, got dotsShe is a bad b, she gives tops
  2017 December 22, “No Hook”, performed by 61 – Cee Drilla x Beans x Nz x Ruger, 0:53–1:00
  His bitch gave me some top, and now he wanna send me threats
  2019 March 19, Nav (lyrics and music), “Price on My Head”, in Bad Habits‎
  I like gettin' top (Ooh), I like drivin' coupes […]Yeah I got Erza Scarlet tryna fuck (Yeah, ooh)Gettin' top and watching Crunchyroll
  2019 November 20, Oliver Francis (lyrics and music), “I Like”, in The Adventures Of Oliver Francis‎
  Just got some top from this stripper bitch, she from Kankakee
  2020 February 21, King Von (lyrics and music), “Took Her to the O”, in Levon James‎
  She asked to give me some top and I’m downHead feeling loose ‘cos I’m lit off the brown
  2020 August 7, DON RCS (lyrics and music), “Top Down”‎
  I’m in a wraith with a thot, she gon’ give me some top, cause my music a bop, aye
  2020 September 11, Ron Suno (lyrics and music), “Wraith”‎ ft. DDG, chorus first time 0:24–0:27
8. (particle physics) A top quark.
9. The utmost degree; the acme; the summit.
  Quotations
  The top of my own ambition is to contribute to that work.
  June 18 1714, Alexander Pope, letter to Jonathan Swift
10. (ropemaking) 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.
11. (sound) Highest pitch or loudest volume.
  Quotations
  I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.
  1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
12. (wool manufacture) A bundle or ball of slivers of combed wool, from which the noils, or dust, have been taken out.
  Quotations
  Most cotton is sold as top, requiring only predrafting prior to spinning.
  2014, W. J. Johnson, Yarn Works: How to Spin, Dye, and Knit Your Own Yarn, page 32
13. (obsolete, except in one sense of phrase on top of) Eve; verge; point.
  Quotations
  Hee was upon the top of his marriage with Magdalaine.
  1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes, […], London: […] Adam Islip
14. The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface.
15. (in the plural, slang, dated) Topboots.
  Quotations
  There was one pair of boots in particular — a jolly, good-tempered, hearty-looking, pair of tops, that excited our warmest regard
  1836, “Boz” [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Sketches by “Boz,” Illustrative of Every-day Life, and Every-day People. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Macrone, […]
16. (golf, cue sports, racquet sports) A stroke on the top of the ball.
17. (golf, cue sports, racquet sports) A forward spin given to the ball by hitting it on or near the top; topspin
  Quotations
  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.
  1886, E.T.Sachs, The Boys Own Annual: Lawn-Tennis of the Present‎, volume 9, page 778
18. (in restaurants, preceded by a number) (A table at which there is, or which has enough seats for) a group of a specified number of people eating at a restaurant.
  Quotations
  […] 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.
  2014, Jamey Glasnovic, Lost and Found: Adrift in the Canadian Rockies, page 144
  It is uncanny how a server can stand in front of a ten top, without the safety net of pen and paper, and remember every item ordered by each guest including salads, […]
  2015, Jeff Benjamin, Front of the House: Restaurant Manners, Misbehaviors & Secrets
19. Short for topswarm.
  Quotations
  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.
  1866, The Scottish Gardener, page 397
verb
third-person singular simple present tops, present participle topping, simple past and past participle topped
1. To cover on the top or with a top.
2. To excel, to surpass, to beat, to exceed.
  Quotations
  Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed, / And my invention thrive, Edmund the base / Shall top th' legitimate. I grow; I prosper
  c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene ii]
  Within months, sales of ONE magazine were topping 2,000 copies.
  2005 August 23, Leslie Feinberg, “Headwaters of first mass political gay movement rise”, in Workers World‎
  The HSDT team, however, had some work to do, although by the end of 1972 the power car interior had been adjusted and BR had agreed to 'double-manning' with extra pay when speeds topped the ton.
  2021 October 6, Greg Morse, “A need for speed and the drive for 125”, in RAIL, number 941, page 50
3. To be in the lead, to be at number one position (of).
  Quotations
  Liverpool topped the table on Christmas Day and, after Arsenal's win at West Ham earlier on Boxing Day, would have returned to the top had they been the first team to beat City at home this season.
  2013 December 26, Phil McNulty, BBC Sport
4. To cut or remove the top (as of a tree)
  Quotations
  Topping depletes the tree of stored energy reserves and reduces the tree's ability to produce energy, as a large percentage of the leaves are removed.
  2003, Dan Prendergast, Erin Prendergast, The Tree Doctor: A Guide to Tree Care and Maintenance, page 78
5. (Britain, slang, reflexive) To commit suicide.
6. (Britain, slang, rare, chiefly archaic) To murder or execute.
7. (BDSM) To be the dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay.
8. (gay slang, transitive, intransitive) To anally penetrate in gay sex.
9. (archaic) To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower.
  Quotations
  lofty and topping mountains
  1713, W[illiam] Derham, Physico-Theology: Or, A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God, from His Works of Creation. […], London: […] W[illiam] Innys, […]
  influenced by that topping uneasiness
  1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […]
10. (archaic) To excel; to rise above others.
11. (nautical) To raise one end of (a yard, etc.), making it higher than the other.
12. (dyeing) To cover with another dye.
13. To put a stiffening piece or back on (a saw blade).
14. (slang, dated) To arrange (fruit, etc.) with the best on top.
15. (of a horse) To strike the top of (an obstacle) with the hind feet while jumping, so as to gain new impetus.
16. To improve (domestic animals, especially sheep) by crossing certain individuals or breeds with other superior breeds.
17. To cut, break, or otherwise take off the top of (a steel ingot) to remove unsound metal.
18. (golf) To strike (the ball) above the centre; also, to make (a stroke, etc.) by hitting the ball in this way.
adjective
not comparable
1. Situated on the top of something.
2. (informal) Best; of the highest quality or rank.
3. (informal) Very good, of high quality, power, or rank.
  Quotations
  In a thread called “Calm Before the Storm”, and in subsequent posts, Q established his legend as a government insider with top security clearance who knew the truth about a secret struggle for power involving Donald Trump, the “deep state”, Robert Mueller, the Clintons, pedophile rings, and other stuff.
  2018 July 31, Julia Carrie Wong, “What is QAnon? Explaining the bizarre rightwing conspiracy theory”, in The Guardian‎
adverb
not comparable
1. Rated first.

Definition of "top"

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