top

/tɒp/

//tɒp// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"top" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“top” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #244) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#244
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The highest or uppermost part of something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-top · top · English

top · rank #244 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #244
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH public

Nearest frequency peer: public (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “top”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “top” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

top vs TV
0% similar
top vs TX
0% similar
top vs Tu
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for top
PropertyValue
Headwordtop
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɒp/
Letters3
Frequency rank#244
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “top” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).top lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for top is neighbouring look-alikes ("TV", "TX", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /tɒp/. Frequency #244 among 3,151 “T” headwords. 31 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for top, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TV", "TX", "Tu", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English top, toppe, from Old English topp (“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, en… The correct English form is top, spelled T-O-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    The highest or uppermost part of something.
  2. 2
    The highest or uppermost part of something.
  3. 3
    The highest or uppermost part of something.
  4. 4
    The highest or uppermost part of something.
  5. 5
    The highest or uppermost part of something.
  6. 6
    The highest or uppermost part of something.
  7. 7
    The highest or uppermost part of something.
  8. 8
    The highest or uppermost part of something.
  9. 9
    The near end of somewhere.
  10. 10
    A child's spinning toy; a spinning top.
  11. 11
    Someone who is eminent.
  12. 12
    Someone who is eminent.
  13. 13
    A peak price of a security during a trading period, before it begins a downward trend.
  14. 14
    A dominant partner in a sadomasochistic relationship or roleplay.
  15. 15
    A dominant partner in a sadomasochistic relationship or roleplay.
  16. 16
    A person who penetrates or has a preference for penetrating during intercourse.
  17. 17
    Fellatio; a blowjob.
  18. 18
    A top quark.
  19. 19
    The utmost degree; the acme; the summit.
  20. 20
    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.
  21. 21
    Highest pitch or loudest volume.
  22. 22
    A bundle or ball of slivers of combed wool, from which the noils, or dust, have been taken out.
  23. 23
    Eve; verge; point.
  24. 24
    The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface.
  25. 25
    Topboots.
  26. 26
    A stroke on the top of the ball.
  27. 27
    A forward spin given to the ball by hitting it on or near the top; topspin.
  28. 28
    (A table at which there is, or which has enough seats for) a group of a specified number of people eating at a restaurant.
  29. 29
    Ellipsis of topswarm.
  30. 30
    The First Sergeant or Master Sergeant (U.S. Marine Corps), senior enlisted man at company level.
  31. 31
    a shoot (eaten as a vegetable).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how top appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. His kite got caught at the top of the tree.
  2. But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. […]The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook,[…].

Etymology

From Middle English top, toppe, from Old English topp (“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. Compare typologically Latin apex (<< Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“to join, attach, fasten, fit”)). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Top (“top”), Cimbrian sòpf (“braid”), Dutch top (“top, summit, peak”), German Topp (“top of a mast”), Zopf (“braid, pigtail, plait, top”), Luxembourgish Zapp (“plait, tress”), Vilamovian cöp (“braid, plait”), Yiddish צאָפּ (tsop, “braid”), Danish top (“top”), Icelandic toppur (“top”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish topp (“top, peak, summit, tip”), Italian zuffa (“brawl”). 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.

This word in other languages

cima(Español)dessus(Français)Oberteil(Deutsch)cima(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "top"?
"top" is spelled T-O-P. The IPA pronunciation is /tɒp/.
What does "top" mean?
As a noun, "top" means: The highest or uppermost part of something.
What words are commonly confused with "top"?
"top" is commonly confused with "TV", "TX", "Tu". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "top"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "top" is /tɒp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "top"?
From Middle English top, toppe, from Old English topp (“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, p... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "top", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

god#239set#234let#228few#226

What to do next

You've looked up "top". Here's where to go from here.

  • "top" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "TV". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #244 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list