top-


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Related to top-: Top gear

top-

pref.
Variant of topo-.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

top-

combining form
a variant of topo-
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

top1

(tɒp)

n., adj., v. topped, top•ping. n.
1. the highest point, part, or level of anything; summit.
2. the uppermost or upper part, surface, end, etc., of anything.
3. a lid or covering of a container.
4. the highest or leading position or rank: at the top of the class.
5. a person or thing occupying such a position.
6. the highest pitch or degree: at the top of one's voice.
7. the first or foremost part; beginning: Take it from the top.
8. a garment for the upper body.
9. a rooflike upper part or cover on a vehicle.
10. tops, the part of a plant that grows above ground, esp. of an edible root.
11. the head or the crown of the head: from top to toe.
12. the best or choicest part: the top of the lot.
13. Brit.
a. a part considered as higher: the top of the street.
b. high gear of an automobile.
14. a platform surrounding the head of a lower mast on a ship and serving as a foothold, a means of extending the upper rigging, etc.
15.
a. (in bridge) the best card of a suit in a player's hand.
b. (in duplicate bridge) the best score on a hand.
16. the first half of an inning in baseball.
17. (in sports)
a. a stroke that hits a ball above its center.
b. the forward spin given to the ball by such a stroke.
18. Chem. the part of a mixture under distillation that volatilizes first.
adj.
19. of, situated at, or forming the top; highest; uppermost; upper.
20. highest in degree; greatest: to pay top prices.
21. foremost, chief, or principal: the top players.
22. highest in rank, quality, or popularity: the top ten movies.
v.t.
23. to furnish with a top; put a top on.
24. to be at or constitute the top of.
25. to reach the top of.
26. to rise above.
27. to exceed in height, amount, number, etc.
28. to surpass, excel, or outdo: That tops everything.
29. to surmount with something specified.
30. to remove the top of; crop; prune: to top a tree.
31. to get or leap over the top of (a fence, barrier, etc.).
32. Chem. to distill off only the most volatile part of (a mixture).
33.
a. to strike (a ball) above its center, giving it a forward spin.
b. to make (a stroke) by hitting the ball in this manner.
v.i.
34. to rise aloft.
35. top off,
a. to climax or complete, esp. in an exceptional manner; finish.
b. to fill (a partly filled container, as a gas tank) to capacity.
36. top out,
a. to finish the top of (a structure).
b. to reach the highest level.
Idioms:
1. at the top of one's lungs, as loudly as possible; with full voice.
2. off the top of one's head, without thought or preparation; extemporaneously.
3. on top, successful; victorious; dominant.
4. on top of,
a. over or upon.
b. in addition to; over and above.
c. in complete control: on top of the problem.
d. very or overly close to: living on top of each other.
e. close upon; following upon.
f. aware of; informed about.
5. on top of the world, elated; exuberant.
6. over the top,
a. over the top of a trench, as in charging the enemy.
b. surpassing a goal, quota, or limit.
[before 1000; Middle English; late Old English topp, c. Old Frisian topp tuft, Old High German zopf plait, tress, Old Norse toppr top, tuft]

top2

(tɒp)

n.
a toy, often inversely conical, with a point on which it is made to spin.
Idioms:
sleep like a top, to sleep soundly.
[before 1100; Middle English, Old English, c. Frisian, dial. Dutch top]

top-

var. of topo- before a vowel: toponym.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive ?
Steel--The similarity between the top- and unfiltered bottom-filled running systems agrees with the results obtained for the aluminum alloy test-bars.