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Synonyms

top brass

American  

noun

Informal.

  1. brass.

top brass British  

noun

  1. informal (functioning as plural) the most important or high-ranking officials or leaders, as in politics, industry, etc See also brass

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
top brass Idioms  

  1. see under brass hat.

Etymology

Origin of top brass

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Top brass from the National Guard Bureau and an aide to South Dakota U.S.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 4, 2022

Top brass from other technology companies, like the manufacturing giant Foxconn, are also expected to testify.

From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2019

Top brass was on hand, but no one’s talking.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2018

Top brass ultimately deemed the device a hard sell and abandoned it.

From The Verge • Nov. 16, 2017

Top brass set up oil drilling operations in the ravaged territory.

From Russian Roulette: Russia's Economy in Putin's Era by Vaknin, Samuel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.