top brass
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of top brass
An Americanism dating back to 1935–40
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.
One prisoner refers to a "rocket testing site" while discussing bratwurst supplies for the top brass.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
John Nagl, who strongly felt that the Army’s top brass were too hidebound to the old ways of warfighting—large-scale tank-and-infantry battles—and were blocking the promotions of officers who were fighting counterinsurgency battles in the field.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
BP has previous experience when it comes to spats with its top brass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
The committee said it had taken the "unusual but necessary step" of declaring no confidence in the company's top brass because of the seriousness of the failures.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
Before long, Admiral Nimitz and his generals were meeting in that tent to discuss battle plans while we Navajo code talkers waited in the corner, right there next to the top brass.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
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.
