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:
Reyes found him standing in his living room, wearing his signature top hat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Dressed in a top hat and tails, he carried the singer across the stage to a couch where she changed outfits before performing I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
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
His top hat lies in the straw beside him, punctured, as though he’d put a foot through it.
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
The top-hat man glanced around, and Lyra set off toward the theater crowd.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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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.
