top-tier

American

[top-teer] / ˈtɒpˈtɪər /

adjective

of or among the highest rank, level, importance, or quality.

It was again named the top-tier exterior house paint.
She was sought after by three top-tier college basketball teams.

Etymology

Origin of top-tier

First recorded in 1940–45; top ¹ ( def. ) + tier ¹ ( def. )

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.

See Examples For:

top-tier

Raspberry preserves and orange marmalade are also top-tier.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

To be sure, top-tier tech earnings aren’t the only catalyst that could disrupt the calm in the stock market this week.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 19, 2026

Then the tournament started, and the company started to run out of its top-tier World Cup product: authentic game jerseys.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

For one, it includes an NIL component, with select top-tier Trojan athletes slated to score their own NIL deals with Nike.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

I wanted the best of both worlds—the thrill and the drama of high school with all my friends and a top-tier gymnastics career.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

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