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top

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Word family (noun) top topping (adjective) top
topless topmost (verb) top (adverb) tops
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

Related topics: Daily life, Clothes, Plants, Food, Exercises

Geography, Toys

top1 /tɒp $ tɑːp/ ●●● S1 W1 noun [countable]

   
 
1 HIGHEST PART the highest part of something
OPP bottom
top of
More results
  The tops of the mountains were still covered top something ↔ off
with snow.
top out
  She could only just see over the tops of their
heads. top something/somebody ↔
at the top (of something) up
  He was standing at the top of the stairs.
be topped by something
  We’ll sit down once we’re at the top.
  Write your name at the top of the page. be topped (off) with
to the top (of something) something

  Stop and wait for us when you get to the top top and tail
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  I filled the glass right to the top.
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top an offer/a bid etc

  The book I wanted was at the very top of the See all results
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cliff top/mountaintop/hilltop/treetop

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   We could just see the white cliff tops in the What are these?
distance.

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2 UPPER SURFACE
object
the flat upper surface of an
eccentric
behaving in a way that is unusual
  a low wooden table with a glass top
and different from most people
top of
  We walked along the top of the ancient city
walls. Verb table top
on (the) top of something
Simple Form
  She put the papers down on the top of the
piano. Present
  Her fingers drummed on the table top. I, you, we, they top
he, she, it tops
3 → the top

4 COVER something that you put on or over an

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Continuous Form
  I can’t get the top off the jar.
  You’ve left the top off the toothpaste
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I am topping
  Can you put the top back on the bottle when
he, she, it is topping
you’ve finished with it?
 bottle top/pen top etc
> View More
  Has anyone seen my pen top?

5 CLOTHES a piece of clothing that you wear on the

upper part of your body
  She was wearing a stripy knitted top.
  a skirt with a matching top
  a bikini top
  I can’t find my pyjama top.

6 → be (at the) top of the list/agenda

7 → on top

8 → on top of something

9 → one on top of the other

10 → on top of somebody

11 → get on top of somebody

12 → come out on top

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14 PLANT the part of a fruit or vegetable where it
was attached to the plant, or the leaves of a plant
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whose root you can eat
  Cut the tops off the tomatoes.
   I’ve found a recipe for beetroot tops.

15 STREET/FIELD ETC the part of the street or of a

piece of land that is the furthest away from you
  I waited at the top of East Street.

16 → the top of the milk

17 → the top of the table

18 → off the top of your head

19 → sing/shout at the top of your voice

20 → be at the top of your game

21 → from the top

22 → from top to bottom

23 → from top to toe

24 → the top and bottom of it

25 → not have much up top

26 TOY a child’s toy that spins around on its point

when you twist it

27 → spin like a top

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Examples from the Corpus

top
• a dressing-table with a glass top
• The skirt comes with a matching top.
• There are two styles to choose from: the traditional
apex, shown here, and the flat pergola top.
• When you paint, you should start at the top and work
your way down.
• There's a wonderful view from the top of the tower.
• This jewellery box would be worth a lot of money if
the top wasn't chipped.
• She looked at him over the top of her cup.
• Put the top back on the bottle when you're finished.
• Cut the pineapples lengthwise, without removing the
tops.
• We got the Christmas tree home by tying it to the top
of the car.
• It's a long, but not hard, way to the top.
• The elevator will take you all the way to the top.
• The top of the mountain is covered with snow.
• The top of the piano was covered with a lace cloth.
• The tops of the trees swayed in the breeze.

top of
• Stong's intellect and drive helped him reach the top
of his profession.

on (the) top of“Accept

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• And by the April after that there will be speed
cameras on top of other speed cameras.
• He just stopped the car on Cookies
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of a small hill, for All Cookies
they were right out in the country now.
• She was lying on top of him.
 • Then the teacher put the newspaper on top of the
stick, smoothed down the paper and hit the stick.
• Spoon out excess fat from the roasting pan, and put
the pan on top of the stove.
• Subtlety and suppleness, on top of strength and
speed.
• Then, on top of the craziness and alleged corruption,
populist Bucaram last month announced an
economic austerity program.

top2 ●●● S1 W1 adjective    

1 HIGHEST [only before noun] nearest to the top
of something OPP bottom
  We have a flat on the top floor of the
building.
  the top button of his shirt
  I managed to scrape off the top layer of
paint.
  I found the letter in the top drawer of his
desk.

2 BEST [usually before noun] best or most

successful
  our top tennis players
  a top New York salon
  one of the world’s top engineering
companies
  people in top jobs
  She got top marks.
  The top score was 72.

3 WINNING winning in a game or competition

top of
  Barcelona remain top of the league after
beating Real
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are still top (=the highest in a list of clubs in a
competition).
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4 → top left/right/centre

5 → top speed
 6 → top priority

7 GOOD British English spoken informal very good

  Clive’s a top bloke.

8 → top copy

Examples from the Corpus

top
• Sue is in the top 10% of her class.
• In addition, a listing is given of the companies in the
top 50 of the Index which have offended in each
category.
• Miss Vesta Tilley is the top act.
• Put the papers in the top drawer of the filing cabinet.
• My keys are in the top drawer.
• a top fashion designer
• She doubted she would be quick enough to retreat to
the top floor if that happened.
• We moved into an apartment on the top floor of the
building.
• He is definitely one of the world's top golfers.
• But others say a top job here is more likely.
• the top left-hand corner of the page
• On leaving office he argued that the top level of the
civil service needed an injection of fresh blood.
• You have some peanut butter on your top lip.
• The prize is to have your hair done at a top New York
salon.
• The top price paid was $1,200,000 for a print by
Degas.
• top quality beef
• Spare house and garage keys in the top right hand
drawer of Charles's desk.
• Carlson is our top salesman.
• The books are on the top shelf.
• It narrowly beat much bigger rival and fellow
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• It's Hyundai's fastest car yet, with a top speed of 121
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top floor
 • The maids' bathroom and water closet is on the top
floor by the linen room.
• The top floor directly overhead had been abandoned
for years.
• The basement of the house had sustained heavy
damage and part of the ceiling on the top floor had
collapsed.
• The party residence was on the top floor of a private
house on Tinton.
• Take the apartment, up on the top floor of a smelly
tenement on Prospect Avenue.
• On the top floor the bedrooms had pretty sloping
ceilings and dormer windows peering out under eyelid
gables.
• I knew that the top floor was vacant.

top3 ●○○ verb (topped, topping) [transitive]  

 
1 BE HIGHER to be higher than a particular amount
  Their profits have reportedly topped
£1,000,000 this year.

2 BE MOST SUCCESSFUL to be in the highest

position in a list because you are the most
successful
  The Tower of London tops the list of
London’s most popular tourist attractions.
  the team that has topped the Premiership for
the last three seasons
  In 1998 the group topped the charts with the
song ‘Don’t Stop Loving Me’.

3 DO BETTER if you top something, you do

something that is better than it
  He topped his previous best performance,
coming second in the 100 metres.
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4 → top an offer/a bid etc
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5 → be topped by something
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6 → be topped (off) with something

7 → to top it all
 8 → top that

9 → top and tail

10 → top yourself

11 REACH THE TOP literary if you top a hill, you

reach the top of it
  We topped the hill and looked down towards
the valley below us.

→ top something ↔ off

→ top out
→ top something/somebody ↔ up
→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

top
• Griffin estimated the toll exceeds $ 10 million and
could top $ 100 million.
• U.S. wine exports have already topped $51 million
this year.
• Jez should top her with a chopper.
• To top it off, no effort was made to go after these
guys.
• The appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp topped that of
Comet Hyakutake.
• After two days of climbing, we finally topped the
peak.
• As dawn began to lighten the sky they topped the
rise of another mist-shrouded valley and began to
descend the other side.
• Experts say the recession is to blame for the rise in
office crime as workers try to top up their income.
• Fiercely tart, this dessert is a massive wedge of
creamy pie topped with a puff of lighter-than-air
meringue.
• An evening
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tomatoes, pesto and feta cheese.

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• And their last two singles topped the charts.
• But it didn't end there: shortly afterwards, her album
topped the charts and went on to sell 100,000 copies.
 • In 1986 West End Girls topped the charts for two
weeks and other hits quickly followed.

From Longman Business Dictionary

top1 /tɒptɑːp/ adjective [only before a noun]

1 at the highest level
The top rate of income tax has been cut sharply.
the pay of top executives
She spent five years in the top job.
He is among the top 5% of earners in this country.

2 biggest or most successful

the top 100 companies in the UK

3 best
We sell only top-quality goods.

top2 verb (topped, topping) [transitive]

1 to be higher than a particular amount
Profits this year should top £1.2 billion.
Last year bilateral trade topped $1 billion.

2 top an offer/a bid etc to offer more money than

someone else
A rival company has topped our offer by $5 million.

→
→ →
→ See Verb table

top3 noun
the top the most important or most successful
position in an organization, company, group etc
He started life at the bottom and worked his way
up to the top.
This decision has come from the top (=was made
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Origin top1 1. Old English topp 2. (1000-1100) Origin
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