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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.

Unless the Spurs top brass act quickly, that might just be where Igor Tudor is taking them.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

Military top brass, political elites and ordinary party members will crowd Pyongyang for the twice-a-decade gathering, with supreme leader Kim Jong Un taking centre stage.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026

And amid the Ukraine war he was despatched to negotiate with Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin during his attempted mutiny against Russian military top brass in 2023.

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026

Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime Moore admitted last week that his department’s after-action report on the Palisades fire was watered down to shield top brass from scrutiny.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2026

It appeared to contain an archive of the Oology Division’s status reports, intended for the Sixers’ top brass.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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.