top out
Britishverb
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Complete the top portion of a building, as in They were scheduled to top out the dome next week . This idiom was first recorded in 1834.
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Fill up a ship or complete its cargo, as in The ship was topped out with scrap iron . This idiom was first recorded in 1940.
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Cease rising, as in Interest rates topped out at 10 percent . [Second half of 1900s]
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Retire just as one becomes very successful, as in He decided that at sixty it was time to top out . [ Colloquial ; second half of 1900s]
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.
The benchmark Kospi tumbled 8.1% Friday afternoon, erasing Thursday’s gains as investors grew concerned that the rapid growth in profits of chip manufacturers that supply the AI industry could top out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Analysts expect Datroway’s breast-cancer sales will top out at $714 million annually, according to life-sciences firm Norstella.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Temperatures are expected to reach 33C in Paris on Thursday, and top out at 34C on both Saturday and Sunday.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Downtown L.A. and Burbank might top out at 67 degrees Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
When I get to my room, I pull Isabella’s top out of my backpack and hold it up so I can check myself out in the mirror.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
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.
