top-down

[top-doun]

adjective

1. relating to, originating with, or directed by those of highest rank.

   a centralized, top-down organization with a chain of command reporting up from every corner of the earth.

2. organized or proceeding from the larger, more general structure to smaller, more detailed units, as in processing information.

   Top-down investing looks at the big picture, or how the overall economy drives the markets, and then focuses on individual stocks.

3. Computers.,  noting or relating to a methodology used in the design and coding of programs that takes a high-level description of a problem and successively breaks it into smaller and simpler subunits.

top-down

adjective

1. controlled, directed, or organized from the top

Word History and Origins

Origin of top-down¹

First recorded in 1940–45; 1970–75 top-down for def. 3; adjective use of the adverb phrase “from the top down ”

Example Sentences

Observing from outside the ecliptic would provide a crucial top-down view, helping scientists trace how CMEs and other disturbances travel through the solar system.

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"If anything, contemporary Chinese history has repeatedly demonstrated that top-down ideological campaigns can hardly eradicate the social roots of problems," says Dr Luo.

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China, on the other hand, is "top-down" where "they can have flashy platforms and systems but they will not move a finger until they receive an order from the top", he adds.

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I want L.A. to be a city where people are not criminalized because of where they live, where they’re not forced to live in top-down solutions that don’t work for them.

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Such changes must include a top-down reconsideration of infrastructure, budgets and training, he said, which should occur in conjunction with the launch of satellite dishes, autonomous helicopters and drones, AI-powered cameras and other new tools.

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