Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Top

Top

,
Noun.
[CF. OD.
dop
,
top
, OHG., MNG., & dial. G.
topf
; perhaps akin to G.
topf
a pot.]
1.
A child’s toy, commonly in the form of a conoid or pear, made to spin on its point, usually by drawing off a string wound round its surface or stem, the motion being sometimes continued by means of a whip.
2.
(Rope Making)
A plug, or conical block of wood, with longitudital grooves on its surface, in which the strands of the rope slide in the process of twisting.

Top

,
Noun.
[AS.
top
; akin to OFries.
top
a tuft, D.
top
top, OHG.
zopf
end, tip, tuft of hair, G.
zopf
tuft of hair, pigtail, top of a tree, Icel.
toppr
a tuft of hair, crest, top, Dan.
top
, Sw.
topp
pinnacle, top; of uncertain origin. Cf.
Tuft
.]
1.
The highest part of anything; the upper end, edge, or extremity; the upper side or surface; summit; apex; vertex; cover; lid;
as, the
top
of a spire; the
top
of a house; the
top
of a mountain; the
top
of the ground.
The star that bids the shepherd fold,
Now the
top
of heaven doth hold.
Milton.
2.
The utmost degree; the acme; the summit.
The
top
of my ambition is to contribute to that work.
Pope.
3.
The highest rank; the most honorable position; the utmost attainable place;
as, to be at the
top
of one's class, or at the
top
of the school
.
And wears upon his baby brow the round
And
top
of sovereignty.
Shakespeare
4.
The chief person; the most prominent one.
Other . . . aspired to be the
top
of zealots.
Milton.
5.
The crown of the head, or the hair upon it; the head.
“From top to toe”
Spenser.
All the stored vengeance of Heaven fall
On her ungrateful
top
!
Shakespeare
6.
The head, or upper part, of a plant.
The buds . . . are called heads, or
tops
, as cabbageheads.
I. Watts.
7.
(Naut.)
A platform surrounding the head of the lower mast and projecting on all sudes. It serves to spead the topmast rigging, thus strengheningthe mast, and also furnishes a convenient standing place for the men aloft.
Totten.
8.
(Wool Manuf.)
A bundle or ball of slivers of comkbed wool, from which the noils, or dust, have been taken out.
9.
Eve; verge; point.
[R.]
“He was upon the top of his marriage with Magdaleine.”
Knolles.
10.
The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface.
Knight.
11.
pl.
Top-boots.
[Slang]
Dickens.
☞ Top is often used adjectively or as the first part of compound words, usually self-explaining; as, top stone, or topstone; top-boots, or top boots; top soil, or top-soil.
Top and but
(Shipbuilding)
,
a phrase used to denote a method of working long tapering planks by bringing the but of one plank to the top of the other to make up a constant breadth in two layers.
–
Top minnow
(Zool.)
,
a small viviparous fresh-water fish (
Gambusia patruelis
) abundant in the Southern United States. Also applied to other similar species.
–
From top to toe
,
from head to foot; altogether.

Top

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Topped
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Topping
.]
1.
To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower;
as, lofty ridges and
topping
mountains
.
Derham.
2.
To predominate;
as,
topping
passions
.
“Influenced by topping uneasiness.”
Locke.
3.
To excel; to rise above others.
But write thy, and
top
.
Dryden.

Top

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To cover on the top; to tip; to cap; – chiefly used in the past participle.
Like moving mountains
topped
with snow.
Waller.
A mount
Of alabaster,
topped
with golden spires.
Milton.
2.
To rise above; to excel; to outgo; to surpass.
Topping
all others in boasting.
Shakespeare
Edmund the base shall
top
the legitimate.
Shakespeare
3.
To rise to the top of; to go over the top of.
But wind about till thou hast
topped
the hill.
Denham.
4.
To take off the or upper part of; to crop.
Top
your rose trees a little with your knife.
Evelyn.
5.
To perform eminently, or better than before.
From endeavoring universally to
top
their parts, they will go universally beyond them.
Jeffrey.
6.
(Naut.)
To raise one end of, as a yard, so that that end becomes higher than the other.

Webster 1828 Edition

Top

TOP

, n.
1.
The highest part of any thing; the upper end, edge or extremity; as the top of a tree; the top of a spire; the top of a house; the top of a mountain.
2.
Surface; upper side; as the top of the ground.
3.
The highest place; as the top of preferment.
4.
The highest person; the chief.
5.
The utmost degree.
The top of my ambition is to contribute to that work.
If you attain the top of your desires in fame--
6.
The highest rank. Each boy strives to be at the top of his class, or at the top of the school.
7.
The crown or upper surface of the head.
8.
The hair on the crown of the head; the forelock.
9.
The head of a plant.
10. An inverted conoid which children play with by whirling it on its point, continuing the motion with a whip.
11. In ship-building, a sort of platform, surrounding the head of the lower mast and projecting on all sides. It serves to extend the shrouds, by which means they more effectually support the mast; and in ships of war, the top furnishes a convenient stand for swivels and small arms to annoy the enemy.

Definition 2024

Top

Top

See also: top, TOP, tốp, and töp

Saterland Frisian

Noun

Top m

  1. top; summit; peak
  2. tuft

top

top

See also: TOP, Top, tốp, and töp

English

Noun

top ‎(plural tops)

  1. (Can we clean up(+) this sense?)The highest part or component of an object.
    His kite got caught at the top of the tree.‎
    • 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapter1:
      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, […].
    1. The part viewed, or intended to be viewed, nearest the edge of the visual field normally occupied by the uppermost visible objects.
      Further weather information can be found at the top of your television screen.  Headings appear at the tops of pages.‎
    2. A lid, cap or cover of a container.
      Put a top on the toothpaste tube or it will go bad.‎
    3. A garment worn to cover the torso.
      I bought this top as it matches my jeans.‎
    4. (nautical) A framework at the top of a ship's mast to which rigging is attached.
    5. (baseball) The first half of an inning, during which the home team fields and the visiting team bats.
    6. (archaic) The crown of the head, or the hair upon it; the head.
  2. A child’s spinning toy; a spinning top.
    The boy was amazed at how long the top would spin.‎
  3. (heading) Someone who is eminent.
    1. (archaic) The chief person; the most prominent one.
    2. The highest rank; the most honourable position; the utmost attainable place.
      to be at the top of one's class, or at the top of the school‎
      • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
        And wears upon his baby brow the round / And top of sovereignty.
      • 2011 September 29, Tom Rostance, “Stoke 2-1 Besiktas”, in BBC Sport:
        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.
  4. (BDSM) A dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay.
  5. (LGBT, slang) A man penetrating or with a preference for penetrating during homosexual intercourse.
    I prefer being a top, and my boyfriend prefers being a bottom.‎
  6. (physics) A top quark.
  7. The utmost degree; the acme; the summit.
    • Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
      The top of my ambition is to contribute to that work.
  8. (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.
  9. (sound) Highest pitch or loudest.
    She sang at the top of her voice.‎
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      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.
  10. (wool manufacture) A bundle or ball of slivers of combed wool, from which the noils, or dust, have been taken out.
  11. (obsolete, except in one sense of phrase on top of) Eve; verge; point.
    • Richard Knolles (1545-1610)
      He was upon the top of his marriage with Magdaleine.
  12. The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)
  13. (in the plural, slang, dated) Topboots.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Charles Dickens to this entry?)
  14. (golf) A stroke on the top of the ball.
  15. (golf) A forward spin given to the ball by hitting it on or near the top.
  16. (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.
    • 2014, Jamey Glasnovic, Lost and Found: Adrift in the Canadian Rockies (ISBN 1771600527), page 144:
      […] 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.
    • 2015, Jeff Benjamin, Front of the House: Restaurant Manners, Misbehaviors & Secrets (ISBN 1941868029):
      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, […]

Synonyms

  • (part seen, or intended to be seen, nearest the edge of the visual field normally occupied by the uppermost visible objects): head (of a page)
  • (lid): cap, cover, lid
  • (LGBT): pitcher, active, seme (Japanese fiction)

Antonyms

  • (part of an object furthest away in the opposite direction from that in which an unsupported object would fall): base, bottom, underside
  • (part seen, or intended to be seen, nearest the edge of the visual field normally occupied by the uppermost visible objects): foot (of a page)
  • (garment): bottoms
  • (BDSM): bottom
  • (gay sexual slang): bottom, passive, pathic

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

top ‎(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.
    I like my ice cream topped with chocolate sauce.
  2. To cut or remove the top (as of a tree)
    I don't want to be bald, so just top my hair.
    Top and tail the carrots.
  3. To excel, to surpass, to beat.
    Titanic was the most successful film ever until it was topped by another Cameron film, Avatar.
    • Shakespeare, King Lear
      Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed, / And my invention thrive, Edmund the base / Shall top th' legitimate. I grow; I prosper […]
  4. To be in the lead, to be at number one position (of).
    Celine Dion topped the UK music charts twice in the 1990s.
    • 2013, Phil McNulty, "", BBC Sport, 26 December 2013:
      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.
  5. (Britain, slang) To commit suicide, (rare) to murder.
    Depression causes many people to top themselves.
  6. (BDSM) To be the dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay.
    I used to be a slave, but I ended up topping.
    Giving advice to the dominant partner on how to run the BDSM session is called "topping from the bottom".
  7. (slang, gay sexuality) To be the partner who penetrates in anal sex.
  8. (archaic) To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower.
    lofty ridges and topping mountains
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Derham to this entry?)
  9. (archaic) To predominate.
    topping passions
    • John Locke
      influenced by topping uneasiness
  10. (archaic) To excel; to rise above others.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)
  11. (nautical) To raise one end of (a yard, etc.), making it higher than the other.
  12. (dyeing) To cover with another dye.
    to top aniline black with methyl violet to prevent greening
  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.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

top ‎(not comparable)

  1. Situated on the top of something.
  2. (informal) Best; of the highest quality or rank.
    She's in the top dance school.‎
  3. (informal) Very good, of high quality.
    He's a top lawyer.‎
    That is a top car.‎

Related terms

Translations

Adverb

top ‎(not comparable)

  1. Rated first.
    She came top in her French exam.

Synonyms

See also

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: heaven · v. · difficult · #801: top · tone · silent · takes

Anagrams

Albanian

Etymology

Borrowing from Ottoman Turkish طوپ ‎(top).

Noun

top

  1. ball

Baure

Noun

top

  1. fog

Crimean Tatar

Noun

top

  1. ball
  2. lump
  3. cannon

Declension

Derived terms

References

  • Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary], Simferopol: Dolya, ISBN 966-7980-89-8

Danish

Noun

top c (singular definite toppen, plural indefinite toppe)

  1. summit, peak
  2. hairpiece
  3. top (uppermost part, lid, cap, cover, garment worn to cover the torso, child’s spinning toy)

Inflection

Derived terms

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɔp

Adjective

top

  1. (colloquial) great, very good

Derived terms

  • (prefix): top-

Noun

top m ‎(plural toppen, diminutive topje n)

  1. top (uppermost part)
  2. (figuratively) apex
  3. summit, peak (high point of a mountain)
  4. summit, assembly
  5. top (piece of women's clothing)

Antonyms

Derived terms

Verb

top

  1. (denominal) first-person singular present indicative of toppen

Anagrams

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from English top.

Noun

top m ‎(invariable)

  1. (woman's dressing, garment) top

Kurdish

Noun

top f

  1. ball (object, generally spherical, used for playing games)
  2. cannon

Latvian

Verb

top

  1. 3rd person singular present indicative form of tapt
  2. 3rd person plural present indicative form of tapt
  3. (with the particle lai) 3rd person singular imperative form of tapt
  4. (with the particle lai) 3rd person plural imperative form of tapt

Mopan Maya

Adverb

top

  1. very

References

  • Hofling, Charles Andrew (2011). Mopan Maya–Spanish–English Dictionary, University of Utah Press.

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Frankish *topp.

Noun

top m ‎(oblique plural tos, nominative singular tos, nominative plural top)

  1. the hair on top of one's head (where the crown is)

References

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowing from English top.

Pronunciation

  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈtɔp/, /ˈtɔ.pi/
  • Homophone: tope

Adjective

top ‎(invariable, comparable)

  1. (colloquial) top; excellent; very high-quality

Synonyms

Noun

top m (plural tops)

  1. top (garment worn to cover the torso)

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowing from Ottoman Turkish طوپ ‎(top).

Noun

tȍp m ‎(Cyrillic spelling то̏п)

  1. cannon
  2. (chess) rook

Declension

See also

Chess pieces in Serbo-Croatian · šahovske figure / шаховске фигуре (layout · text)
♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟
kralj
краљ 		dama, kraljica
дама, краљица 		top, kula
топ, кула 		lovac, trkač, laufer
ловац, тркач, лауфер 		skakač, konj
скакач, коњ 		pješak, pešak, pion, pijun
пјешак, пешак, пион, пијун

Slovene

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *tǫpъ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtɔ́p/
  • Tonal orthography: tȍp

Adjective

tòp ‎(comparative bòlj tòp, superlative nàjbolj tòp)

  1. blunt
Declension

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Etymology 2

Borrowing from Ottoman Turkish طوپ ‎(top).

Noun

tòp m inan ‎(genitive tôpa, nominative plural topôvi)

  1. cannon
Declension

Spanish

Noun

top m ‎(plural tops)

  1. rundown (of a list)

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish طوپ ‎(top), from Old Turkic tōp, tolp.

Noun

top ‎(definite accusative topu, plural toplar)

  1. ball
  2. cannon
  3. (slang) gay

Declension

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek τόπος ‎(tópos, “place”).

Noun

top ‎(plural tops)

  1. place

Declension

Related terms

Etymology

From Old Frisian top, topp, from Proto-Germanic *tuppaz. More at top.

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