TOP


Meaning of TOP in English

I. ˈtäp noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English top, toppe, from Old English top; akin to Old High German zopf end, tip, tuft of hair, Old Norse toppr tuft of hair, crest, top and perhaps to Old English tæppa tap — more at tap

1.

a.

(1) : the highest point, level, or part of something : the upper end, edge, or extremity : summit , crown

looked over the tops of his half-spectacles — Marcia Davenport

slopes leading toward the mesa- top — American Antiquity

the top of the beach — Sally Carrighar

the top of the pass

(2) : the highest part of the body : the head or top of the head — used especially in the phrase top to toe

(3) : the head of a plant ; especially : the part of a plant with edible roots that is above ground

beet tops

(4) : the part of a cut gem above the girdle : crown , bezel

(5) : the upper part of a garment ; especially : the jacket of pajamas

(6) : a garment worn on the upper body

(7) : top milk

b.

(1) : the highest or uppermost region or parts

dive bombers … dive off the top of the sky — Ira Wolfert

especially : the uppermost story (as the attic) of a building

at the top of the house lived a medical student — W.B.Yeats

— compare treetop

(2) : the surface normally or at present facing upward as opposed to the undersurface : the side that overlies the whole

cumulus clouds … with flat bases and rounded tops — O.W.Perrie

marked at several places to indicate where the top of the concrete should be — Building, Estimating & Contracting

(3) : the part of a thing placed uppermost in use

the top of the page

(4) : the surface of the land or ocean

the submarine came to the top

also : the point at which an underground shaft, tunnel, or well reaches the surface

2.

a. dialect : a crowning tuft:

(1) : the hair on the head

(2) : crest 1a

b. dialect : a tuft of textile fiber ; specifically : a bunch of flax tow placed on a distaff

c.

(1) : a continuous strand of the longer wool fibers after straightening and separating from the short fibers by combing

(2) : a similar strand of rayon staple fiber

3. : a fitted, integral, or attached part or unit serving as an upper piece, endpiece, lid, or covering

an ornamented steamboat smokestack top — Frederick Way

saving box tops for premiums

a jar with a threaded top

as

a. : a metal, plastic, or fabric roof over the passenger compartment of a vehicle that is permanent or capable of being folded back, lowered, or removed

b. : the turndown part or band on a top boot

c. Britain : a ceiling especially in a mine

d. : the upper of a shoe ; especially : the parts above the vamp

e. : a circus or carnival tent

4.

a. : a platform surrounding the head of a lower mast that serves to spread the topmast rigging, strengthen the mast, and furnish a standing place for men aloft

b. : a comparable part of the superstructure ; especially : such a part on a warship used as a fire-control station or antiaircraft gun platform

5. : the part that is nearest in space or time to the source or beginning

the top of the lake

the top of the morning

specifically : the first half of an inning in the game of baseball

6. : topsail

7.

a.

(1) : the highest degree conceivable, attainable, or attained : acme , pinnacle

singing at the top of a form that is unmatched anywhere — Theatre Arts

the high temperature reading … compared with an 87.2 top on Friday — New York Times

(2) : the loudest or highest range of a sound

shouted at the top of his lungs

a soprano with a weak top

(3) Britain : high III 2b

(4) : the price of the most expensive seats for a performance

a show having a six-dollar top

b. archaic : the highest realization or embodiment : the most perfect actualization or instance

c. : the height at which something that has been advancing recedes : culminating point : maximum

sail with the top of the tide — Rachel Henning

the all-time top for fishermen's earnings — Pacific Fisherman

stocks bought at the top of the market

8.

a.

(1) : the highest position in rank, achievement, honor, success, or fame

the top of his profession

top of the bill

the top of his class

especially : the position of a person or group wielding supreme authority

bribery has reached from the top right down to the lowest clerical level — Atlantic

access to someone very near the top — Thomas Barman

(2) : a person or thing at the top

the news of the rising situation got through … to the Congress … tops — Spark

b.

(1) : a playing card higher than any held in the same suit by an opponent

(2) tops plural : aces and kings in a hand or the three highest honors in a suit

(3) or top score : the highest match-point score made at duplicate bridge on a particular board or the highest total of match points scored during a session by one contestant or team

9.

a. : the choicest part : the best or finest of its lot or kind : cream , pick

b. tops plural : the choicest animals in a flock or herd

c. tops plural , Britain : aristocrats

10.

a. : the part of a thing that is conventionally highest or occupies the most important position

the arctic, the frozen top of the world — Carey Longmire

our pilots rolled to the top of the runway — P.J.C.Friedlander

the top of the room

set her down at the top of the street — Maurice Hewlett

b. : the end of a billiard table opposite to that marked with the balkline in English billiards

a top -of-the-table game

11. : top boot

12. : a button finished (as by plating) only on the face

13. : a forward spin given to a ball (as in golf, tennis, billiards, or cricket) by striking it on or near the top or above the center ; also : the blow or stroke so given

14. : first sergeant 1

15. : the most volatile part that passes over first on distillation — often used in plural

refinery tops

16. : a die marked with usually only three different numbers rather than the usual six

17. : an outer ornamental or protective coating or layer

a stainless steel watch band with a gold top

— compare blacktop

- off one's top

- on top

- on top of

- on top of the world

- over the top

- the top of one's head

II. noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English top, toppe, from Old English top; perhaps akin to Middle Dutch dop top, Old High German topf

1. : a child's toy that is commonly cylindrical, pear-shaped, or conoidal and has a tapering usually steel-shod point on which it is made to spin by means of the fingers, a string, or a spring, or by whipping — see peg top , whipping top

2. : a conical block of wood with longitudinal grooves on its surface in which strands of rope slide in the process of twisting

III. verb

( topped ; topped ; topping ; tops )

Etymology: Middle English topen, toppen, from top, toppe top — more at top (head)

transitive verb

1. : to remove or cut the top of: as

a. : to prune the top or leaves of (a plant especially of a root crop)

top carrots

b. : to execute by hanging

c. : to cut, break, or otherwise take off the top of (a steel ingot) to remove unsound metal

d. : to cut the top part from (a tree) in logging — compare climber 1a

e. : pinch 1b (2)

f. : to remove the most volatile parts (as crude petroleum) from : strip 15a, skim

2.

a. : to cover with a top or on the top : provide, form, or serve as a top for : complete by giving or serving as a covering, endpiece, crown, or cup for

arches that top the windows — American Guide Series: New Hampshire

a black mop of curls topping a sleepy face — Winifred Bambrick

the city's educational system is topped by four degree-granting colleges — American Guide Series: New York

b.

(1) : to supply with a decorative or protective finish or a final touch — often used with off

topped off the day with an hour's dancing — Bernard DeVoto

(2) : to cover with another dye

top aniline black with methyl violet to prevent greening and crocking

(3) : tip 3

(4) : to resupply or especially refuel (something partially exhausted) to capacity — usually used with off

log … showed she was topped off with fuel — Chesley Wilson

(5) West : to finish breaking in (a horse)

all these prospects had been topped and ridden several times — Jo Mora

— usually used with off or out

the horse may still buck … but now the peeler can start topping it off — S.E.Fletcher

3.

a.

(1) : to be or become higher than : come to or over the top of : overtop

the water topped the boathouse

topped by three other peaks in the state — American Guide Series: Vermont

(2) : to be in excess of

ski crowds have topped 5000 in a single day — Jean Lunzer

world wheat production has topped that of rice — Margaret K. Zieman

the best year in its history … topping record 1953 — Wall Street Journal

b.

(1) : to be superior to : do better than : excel , surpass , outdo

intends to top herself in her next picture — Robert Trumbull

tops everything of the kind in print — Alfred Frankenstein

(2) : to perform (a part) better than before or better than someone else

c. : to gain ascendancy over : dominate

the base shall top the legitimate — Shakespeare

4.

a.

(1) : to rise to or reach the top of : ascend to the upper surface or especially the summit of

topped the backbone of the continent — A.B.Guthrie

(2) : to go over the top of : clear , surmount

the horse topped the barrier

(3) : to rise above the level of

the plane was to top the storm — Newsweek

b.

(1) : to be at the top of

story that topped the nation's best-seller list — W.H.Whyte

a great beech … topped a small knoll — Susan Ertz

(2) : to be the highest card in (a suit)

a suit topped by the ace

(3) : to be in the most prominent or featured position of

top the bill

5. : cover 10a

6. : to strike (a golf ball) above the center ; also : to make (as a stroke) by hitting the ball in this way

intransitive verb

: to make an end, finish, or conclusion — used with such prepositions as off, out, or up

IV. adjective

Etymology: Middle English top, toppe, from top, toppe, n., top

1.

a. : of, relating to, or at the top : highest , topmost , uppermost

top floor

in man the larynx sits at the top end of a windpipe — G.A.Miller

b. : serving as or constituting a top

the top crust of a pie

2.

a.

(1) : foremost in order, rank, achievement, value, or precedence : chief , head , preeminent

the top painter of his time — Margaret Biddle

two of the nation's top twenty-five banks — T.H.White b.1915

ranked among the top six men of his class — Current Biography

top priority

(2) : of prime importance or interest

it should have been … the top thought and concern of theater men — Bosley Crowther

top essential for stained-glass making is lead — H.L.Morrow

the top news … has dealt with cases of flagrant corruption — Sidney Warren

(3) : being the highest or a high card of a suit

a suit headed by the four top honors

(4) : responsible for the planning and initiation of policies and practices and for making the principal decisions concerning them — distinguished from middle

top management

b. : of a very high quality : extremely good : first-class

the winner showed top form

top sports coverage — advt

3. : of a very high or the highest degree, amount, or intensity : greatest

top speed

commodities selling at top prices

4. : that has or is fitted with a top

top buggy

V. transitive verb

( topped ; topped ; topping ; tops )

Etymology: perhaps from top (I)

: to raise one end of (as the yard of a sail) higher than the other

VI. abbreviation

topographic; topographical

VII. adjective

: having a quantum characteristic whose existence was postulated on the basis of the discovery of the bottom quark

top quark

- over the top

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.