# tippe top

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A spinning top of a shape with counterintuitive behaviour: generally mushroom-like or spherical, with a rounded head and a short stem; when spun head-down on a smooth, flat surface, it inverts its attitude so that it spins head-up, on the tip of the stem, until it loses momentum and falls over.

## Etymology
Coined by Danish engineer Werner Østberg in the 1950s.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tippe-top