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.
Meanwhile, Italian authorities have issued a red heatwave alert for the capital, Rome, where it could top out at 32C on Thursday.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
If those tanks top out, Tehran will be forced to shut in active wells—a drastic measure risking permanent infrastructure damage.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
The Sparks announced the signing of some its top out of contract players and free agents Nneka Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
By age 73, retirees must begin annual required minimum distributions, or RMDs, which are taxed at income-tax rates of up to 37% rather than at capital-gains tax rates, which top out at 15%.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
We all wanted to catch the first glimpse of Cleopatra’s Needle as it poked its pointy top out of The Dessoug.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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.
