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top

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

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3 characters

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English

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "top", 3-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "top" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "top" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

top is aEnglishnoun. It means: The highest or uppermost part of something. Pronounced /tɒp/. It ranks #244 in English word frequency. Often confused with TV and TX.

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

Frequency rank visualization

Position of top in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for top is 3 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /tɒp/. Corpus data places it at rank #244 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 31 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for top in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TV", "TX", "Tu", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

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… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is top, spelled T-O-P, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

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).

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

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Frequency rank: #244 in English

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.

Nearby English words

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.