- present tense form of top (3rd person singular).
tops
Americanadjective
adverb
noun
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of tops
First recorded in 1930–35; plural of top 1
Explanation
Are you the very best chess player in your state? Then you're the tops. Something or someone that's tops is outstanding or of the highest quality. You can use the informal tops to describe things or people that are unmatched or topmost, like your amazing high school, considered to be tops among all public schools in the country. It can also mean something closer to "awesome," as when you say, "Did you taste that new flavor of potato chip? It's tops!" Tops first appeared in 1935 as American slang.
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 residents of Drop City, a Colorado artists’ community, built domes from the curved steel tops of salvaged cars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
With Price waiting on tops to move to within two sets of victory, Humphries nicked it by taking out a brilliant 105, with what he said "felt like the biggest shot of my career".
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
But there was certainly a concerted effort to attract the eye of younger shoppers with a fashion-forward approach to Christmas party staples like sequinned dresses, tasselled skirts and see-through lace tops.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
He also chairs a publicly listed specialty insurance company, Ategrity, in which his stake tops $1 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
To the left, the unmistakable shape of a church rose up, the teardrop tops of its towers glowing in the sun.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
