First recorded in 1800–10
First recorded in 1890–95; adj. use of top hat
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
It made absolutely no sense, but she delivered it with such panache that it barely mattered – even when she ended the performance by pulling a dove out of a top hat.
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026
She donned a custom Marc Jacobs suit that was complete with a giant, hot pink bow at the back, a matching top hat and some unique bling.
From BBC ● May 5, 2025
When he arrives in England, Vincent buys a top hat.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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
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.
