Top, v. t. 1. To cover
on the top; to tip; to cap; -- chiefly used in the past
participle.
Like moving mountains topped with snow.
Waller.
A mount
Of alabaster, topped with golden spires.
Milton.
2. To rise above; to excel; to outgo; to
surpass.
Topping all others in boasting.
Shak.
Edmund the base shall top the
legitimate.
Shak.
3. To rise to the top of; to go over the top
of.
But wind about till thou hast topped the
hill.
Denham.
4. To take off the or upper part of; to
crop.
Top your rose trees a little with your
knife.
Evelyn.
5. To perform eminently, or better than
before.
From endeavoring universally to top their parts, they
will go universally beyond them.
Jeffrey.
6. (Naut.) To raise one end of, as a yard,
so that that end becomes higher than the other.
To top off, to complete by putting on, or
finishing, the top or uppermost part of; as, to top off a stack of
hay; hence, to complete; to finish; to adorn.
Top (?), n. [CF. OD. dop, top,
OHG., MNG., & dial. G. topf; perhaps akin to G. topf a pot.]
1. A child's toy, commonly in the form of a conoid or
pear, made to spin on its point, usually by drawing off a string wound
round its surface or stem, the motion being sometimes continued by means of
a whip.
2. (Rope Making) A plug, or conical block of
wood, with longitudital grooves on its surface, in which the strands of the
rope slide in the process of twisting.
Top (?), n. [AS. top; akin to OFries.
top a tuft, D. top top, OHG. zopf end, tip, tuft of
hair, G. zopf tuft of hair, pigtail, top of a tree, Icel.
toppr a tuft of hair, crest, top, Dan. top, Sw. topp
pinnacle, top; of uncertain origin. Cf. Tuft.] 1.
The highest part of anything; the upper end, edge, or extremity; the
upper side or surface; summit; apex; vertex; cover; lid; as, the top
of a spire; the top of a house; the top of a mountain; the
top of the ground.
The star that bids the shepherd fold,
Now the top of heaven doth hold.
Milton.
2. The utmost degree; the acme; the
summit.
The top of my ambition is to contribute to that
work.
Pope.
3. The highest rank; the most honorable position;
the utmost attainable place; as, to be at the top of one's class, or
at the top of the school.
And wears upon his baby brow the round
And top of sovereignty.
Shak.
4. The chief person; the most prominent
one.
Other . . . aspired to be the top of
zealots.
Milton.
5. The crown of the head, or the hair upon it; the
head. "From top to toe" Spenser.
All the stored vengeance of Heaven fall
On her ungrateful top !
Shak.
6. The head, or upper part, of a plant.
The buds . . . are called heads, or tops, as
cabbageheads.
I. Watts.
7. (Naut.) A platform surrounding the head
of the lower mast and projecting on all sudes. It serves to spead the
topmast rigging, thus strengheningthe mast, and also furnishes a convenient
standing place for the men aloft. Totten.
8. (Wool Manuf.) A bundle or ball of slivers
of comkbed wool, from which the noils, or dust, have been taken
out.
9. Eve; verge; point. [R.] "He was upon the
top of his marriage with Magdaleine." Knolles.
10. The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or
circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface.
Knight.
11. pl. Top-boots. [Slang]
Dickens.
☞ Top is often used adjectively or as the first part of
compound words, usually self-explaining; as, top stone, or
topstone; top-boots, or top boots; top soil, or
top-soil.
Top and but (Shipbuilding), a phrase used
to denote a method of working long tapering planks by bringing the but of
one plank to the top of the other to make up a constant breadth in two
layers. -- Top minnow (Zoöl.), a
small viviparous fresh-water fish (Gambusia patruelis) abundant in
the Southern United States. Also applied to other similar species.
Top, v. t. 1.
(Dyeing) To cover with another dye; as, to top
aniline black with methyl violet to prevent greening and
crocking.
2. To put a stiffening piece or back on (a
saw blade).
3. To arrange, as fruit, with the best on
top. [Cant]
4. To strike the top of, as a wall, with the
hind feet, in jumping, so as to gain new impetus; -- said of a
horse.
5. To improve (domestic animals, esp. sheep)
by crossing certain individuals or breeds with other
superior.
6. (Naut.) To raise one end of, as a
yard, so that that end becomes higher than the other.
7. To cut, break, or otherwise take off the
top of (a steel ingot) to remove unsound metal.
8. (Golf) To strike (the ball) above
the center; also, to make (as a stroke) by hitting the ball in this
way.
Top, v. i. 1.
(Golf) To strike a ball above the center.
2. (Naut.) To rise at one end, as a
yard; -- usually with up.
Top, v. i. [imp. & p. p.
Topped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Topping.]
1. To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower; as, lofty
ridges and topping mountains. Derham.
2. To predominate; as, topping
passions. "Influenced by topping uneasiness."
Locke.
3. To excel; to rise above others.
But write thy, and top.
Dryden.Top, n. (Golf)
(a) A stroke on the top of the ball.
(b) A forward spin given to the ball by hitting
it on or near the top. -- From top to toe,
from head to foot; altogether.