- top
- [[t]tɒ̱p[/t]]
♦tops, topping, topped1) N-COUNT: usu the N in sing, oft N of n The top of something is its highest point or part.
I waited at the top of the stairs.
...the picture at the top of the page...
Bake the biscuits for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned.
Ant:ADJ: ADJ nTop is also an adjective.The bullet had entered the top part of the brain. ...the top corner of his newspaper.
2) ADJ: ADJ n The top thing or layer in a series of things or layers is the highest one.I can't reach the top shelf...
Our new flat was on the top floor...
A plastic surgeon can remove the top layer of skin.
Ant:3) N-COUNT The top of something such as a bottle, jar, or tube is a cap, lid, or other device that fits or screws onto one end of it....the plastic tops from aerosol containers.
...a bottle top.
4) N-SING: the N, oft N of n The top of a street, garden, bed, or table is the end of it that is farthest away from where you usually enter it or from where you are. [mainly BRIT]...a little shop at the top of the street...
He moved to the empty chair at the top of the table.
Syn:end, headADJ: ADJ nTop is also an adjective....the hill near the top end of the garden. ...the top corridor of the main building.
5) N-COUNT A top is a piece of clothing that you wear on the upper half of your body, for example a blouse or shirt. [INFORMAL]Look at my new top.
6) ADJ: ADJ n You can use top to indicate that something or someone is at the highest level of a scale or measurement.The vehicles have a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour.
...a top-ranking Saudi officer.
Ant:7) N-SING: the N, oft N of n The top of an organization or career structure is the highest level in it.We started from the bottom and we had to work our way up to the top.
...his dramatic rise to the top of the military hierarchy.
...the man at the top.
Ant:ADJ: ADJ nTop is also an adjective.I need to have the top people in this company pull together.
8) ADJ: ADJ n You can use top to describe the most important or famous people or things in a particular area of work or activity.So you want to be a top model...
The President met this afternoon with his top military advisers...
Those are some of the top stories in the news.
9) N-SING: the N If someone is at the top of a table or league or is the top of the table or league, their performance is better than that of all the other people involved.The United States will be at the top of the medal table...
Labour was top of the poll with forty-six percent.
Ant:ADJTop is also an adjective.He was the top student in physics... I usually came top in English.
10) ADJ: oft ADJ of n You can use top to indicate that something is the first thing you are going to do, because you consider it to be the most important.Cleaning up the water supply is their top priority...
On arrival, a six-course meal was top of the agenda.
11) ADJ: ADJ n You can use top to indicate that someone does a particular thing more times than anyone else or that something is chosen more times than anything else.Schillaci was Italy's top scorer during the World Cup matches...
Semtex is terrorists' top choice of explosive.
12) VERB To top a list means to be mentioned or chosen more times than anyone or anything else. [JOURNALISM][V n] It was the first time a Japanese manufacturer had topped the list for imported vehicles...
[V n] So what happens if the Socialists top the poll but fall short of an absolute majority?
13) VERB If something tops a particular amount, it is larger than that amount. [JOURNALISM][V n] Imports topped ₤10 billion last month...
[V n] These five schools are in the state's top 5% in achievement scores, one school topping the score for the whole state.
14) VERB If something is topped with something, it has that thing as its highest part.[be V-ed with/by n] The holiest of their chapels are topped with gilded roofs...
Derived words:-topped COMB in ADJ...the glass-topped table.
15) VERB If you top a story, remark, or action, you follow it with a better or more impressive one.[V n] How are you going to top that?
16) ADV: num ADV You can use tops after mentioning a quantity, to say that it is the maximum possible. [INFORMAL]The publisher expected the book to sell 1,500 copies, tops...
Be here in half an hour, tops.
Syn:maxADJ: v-link ADJTop is also an adjective.He reckons a hundred is tops.
17) → See also topping18) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that something is tops or is the tops, you mean that it is better or more successful than anything else. [INFORMAL]Majorca and Ibiza are tops for holiday bargain-hunters in June...
The United States was tops in finance and services...
I thought it was the tops so I bought it.
19) PHRASE: V inflects If someone blows their top, they become very angry about something. [INFORMAL]He blew his top after airport officials refused to let him on a plane.
20) PHRASE: V inflects If a person, organization, or country comes out on top, they are more successful than the others that they have been competing with.The only way to come out on top is to adopt a different approach.
21) PHRASE: v PHR, PHR n If someone pays top dollar for something, they pay the highest possible price for it. [INFORMAL]People will always pay top dollar for something exclusive.
...a club frequented by top-dollar models and their movie star companions.
22) PHRASE: PHR after v (emphasis) If you say that you clean, tidy, or examine something from top to bottom, you are emphasizing that you do it completely and thoroughly.She would clean the house from top to bottom.
23) PHRASE: PHR after v (emphasis) You can use from top to toe to emphasize that the whole of someone's body is covered or dressed in a particular thing or type of clothing.They were sensibly dressed from top to toe in rain gear.
24) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n When something gets on top of you, it makes you feel unhappy or depressed because it is very difficult or worrying, or because it involves more work than you can manage.Things have been getting on top of me lately.
25) PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl If you say something off the top of your head, you say it without thinking about it much before you speak, especially because you do not have enough time.It was the best I could think of off the top of my head.
26) PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v, oft PHR of n If one thing is on top of another, it is placed over it or on its highest part....the vacuum flask that was resting on top of the stove.
...the fairy on top of the Christmas tree...
Place the sliced pork fillet on top and pour a little sauce over it.
27) PHRASE You can use on top or on top of to indicate that a particular problem exists in addition to a number of other problems.A stepfamily faces all the problems that a normal family has, with a set of additional problems on top...
An extra 700 jobs are being cut on top of the 2,000 that were lost last year.
28) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR You say that someone is on top when they have reached the most important position in an organization or business.How does he stay on top, 17 years after becoming foreign minister?
29) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n If you are on top of or get on top of something that you are doing, you are dealing with it successfully....the government's inability to get on top of the situation.
30) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR (emphasis) If you say that you feel on top of the world, you are emphasizing that you feel extremely happy and healthy.Two months before she gave birth to Jason she left work feeling on top of the world.
31) PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, oft PHR of n If one thing is over the top of another, it is placed over it so that it is completely covering it.I have overcome this problem by placing a sheet of polythene over the top of the container...
Stir the sauce and pour it over the top.
32) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR You describe something as over the top when you think that it is exaggerated, and therefore unacceptable. [mainly BRIT, INFORMAL]The special effects are a bit over the top but I enjoyed it.
Syn:33) PHRASE: Vs inflect If you top and tail fruit or vegetables such as French beans, you cut off the tops and the bottoms of them when you are preparing them to be eaten. [BRIT]34) PHRASE: usu prep PHR If you say that someone is at the top of the tree, you mean that they have reached the highest level in their career or profession. [BRIT]He sees himself going right to the top of the tree.
`Stephen!' shouted Marcia at the top of her voice.
Phrasal Verbs:- top off- top up
English dictionary. 2008.
