top

Etymology

From Middle English top, toppe, from Old English top (“top, highest part; summit; crest; tassel, tuft; (spinning) top, ball; a tuft or ball at the highest point of anything”), from Proto-West Germanic *topp, from Proto-Germanic *tuppaz (“braid, pigtail, end”), of unknown ultimate origin. Cognate with Scots tap (“top”), North Frisian top, tap, tup (“top”), Saterland Frisian Top (“top”), West Frisian top (“top”), Dutch top (“top, summit, peak”), Low German Topp (“top”), German Zopf (“braid, pigtail, plait, top”), Swedish topp (“top, peak, summit, tip”), Icelandic toppur (“top”). The sense of a spinning toy is separated from this, obscurely related to Dutch top and dop in this sense, against Standard Dutch tol, and French toupie having this sense.

noun

1. The highest or uppermost part of something.
   1. (irrespective of present orientation) the part of something that is usually the top.
      To mount the V8, I simply placed it on its top, and then prepped the mobo/CPU for installation (applied thermal compound). March 20, 2013, Dewayne Carel, “Cooler Master V8 CPU Cooler”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), retrieved 2017-10-01
      We flipped the machine onto its top.
   2. The uppermost part of a page, picture, viewing screen, etc.
      Further weather information can be found at the top of your television screen.
      Headings appear at the tops of pages.
   3. A lid, cap or cover of a container.
      Put a top on the toothpaste tube or it will go bad.
   4. A garment worn to cover the torso.
      I bought this top as it matches my jeans.
      I like this pyjama top.
   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.
2. The near end of somewhere
   The patio is at the top of my garden.
   The shop is at the top of my street.
3. A child’s spinning toy; a spinning top.
   The boy was amazed at how long the top would spin.
4. (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
      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. September 29, 2011, 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 penetrating or with a preference for penetrating during homosexual intercourse.
   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
   I prefer being a top, and my boyfriend prefers being a bottom.
7. (slang, vulgar, African-American Vernacular, MLE, MTE) Oral stimulation of the male member, a blowjob.
   Running up a check, I'ma drop the top Baby gimme neck, you know I want some top You ain't tryna fuck, then baby don't just stop 2016-11-18, 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 lots And clingy, clingy, got dots She is a bad b, she gives tops 22-12-2017, “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 2019-03-19, 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) 2019-11-20, Oliver Francis (lyrics and music), “I Like”, in The Adventures Of Oliver Francis
   Just got some top from this stripper bitch, she from Kankakee 2020-02-21, King Von (lyrics and music), “Took Her to the O”, in Levon James
   She asked to give me some top and I’m down Head feeling loose ‘cos I’m lit off the brown 2020-08-07, 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 2020-09-11, Ron Suno feat. DDG (lyrics and music), “Wraith”, chorus first time 0:24–0:27
8. (particle physics) A top quark.
9. The utmost degree; the acme; the summit.
   June 18 1714, Alexander Pope, letter to Jonathan Swift The top of my own ambition is to contribute to that work.
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.
    She sang at the top of her voice.
    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.
    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.
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.
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
    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.
    […] 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.
    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

1. To cover on the top or with a top.
   I like my ice cream topped with chocolate sauce.
2. To excel, to surpass, to beat, to exceed.
   Titanic was the most successful film ever until it was topped by another Cameron film, Avatar.
   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. [exceeded 100 mph] October 6 2021, 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).
   Celine Dion topped the UK music charts twice in the 1990s.
   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. 26 December 2013, Phil McNulty, BBC Sport
4. 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.
   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.
   Depression causes many people to top themselves.
6. (Britain, slang, rare) To murder.
7. (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".
8. (gay slang, transitive, intransitive) To anally penetrate in gay sex.
9. (archaic) To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower.
   topping passions
   , Book II, Chapter XXI influenced by that topping uneasiness
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.
    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.

adj

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, power, or rank.
   He's a top lawyer.
   That is a top car.
   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. 31 July 2018, Julia Carrie Wong, “What is QAnon? Explaining the bizarre rightwing conspiracy theory”, in The Guardian

adv

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