top hat
noun
a tall, cylindrical hat with a stiff brim usually slightly curved on the sides, worn by men especially on formal occasions.
top hat
1 Americannoun
-
top hats
plural
top-hat
2
American
[top-hat]
/ ˈtɒpˈhæt /
adjective
top hat
British
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of top hat1
First recorded in 1800–10
Origin of top-hat2
First recorded in 1890–95; adj. use of top hat
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:
At the movie’s premiere, Dolan embodied the wizard, appearing in an emerald green suit and top hat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
It’s all just bravado and illusion in a show where the magician has no bunnies left to pull from his top hat.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
Whitten stood on stage in a top hat and his hair in a zany afro — which was actually a weave installed by four Senegalese women for the price of $2,600, says Sykes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2025
Wearing the Wizard’s green top hat and suit and with his microphone dropping out inauspiciously, Dolan never introduced himself, but he did compliment the other creators of the event, who also wore costumes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2025
I see August’s top hat approaching on my left and move instead to my right, past the line of zebras.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Some were dressed up as the moustachioed, top-hat wearing mascot of the board game Monopoly.
From Reuters ● Sep. 30, 2023
In details like Art’s harlequin jumper and tiny top-hat fascinator — and in the gruesome nondigital makeup effects Leone crafted himself — what moviegoers are buying is homemade filmmaking.
From New York Times ● Oct. 25, 2022
The top-hat wearing members of Phil’s “inner circle” take part in the elaborate ceremony every year in which they read a prediction that had already been made in advance.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2020
“A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,//A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl//Make him the quaint great figure that men love,//The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.”
From Fox News ● Feb. 13, 2019
He was dressed like a New York City doorman: a long black overcoat, shiny shoes, and a black top-hat that somehow managed to stay on his double-wide head.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
