top-heavy

American  

[top-hev-ee] / ˈtɒpˌhɛv i /

adjective

1. having the top disproportionately heavy; liable to fall from too great weight above.

2. relatively much heavier or larger above the center or waist than below.

   a top-heavy wrestler.

3. Finance.

   1. having a financial structure overburdened with securities that have priority in the payment of dividends.

   2. overcapitalized.

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top-heavy British  

adjective

1. unstable or unbalanced through being overloaded at the top

2. finance (of an enterprise or its capital structure) characterized by or containing too much debt capital in relation to revenue or profit so that too little is left over for dividend distributions; overcapitalized

3. (of a business enterprise) having too many executives

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Other Word Forms

• top-heavily adverb
• top-heaviness noun

Etymology

Origin of top-heavy

First recorded in 1525–35; top ¹ + heavy

Example Sentences

Throughout the complex aerial gymnastics of an abort, the distribution of weight matters immensely: A top-heavy capsule performs differently than a bottom-heavy capsule.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

That raises the stakes for the February jobs report, as it could drive the top-heavy S&P 500 to finally break through its recent trading range, up or down.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 1, 2026

He initiated an antigraft purge and dismantled the military’s top-heavy administrative fiefs in favor of centralized, joint-combat theater commands that report directly to the Central Military Commission, which he leads.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

Investment, he said, needed to be in "the right places" not "top-heavy organisations".

From BBC • Oct. 15, 2025

If the left branch is slender enough, it is generally understandable, albeit top-heavy, with all those words to parse before one arrives at the payoff.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• cumbersome
• imbalanced
• overloaded
• unbalanced