Best vs. Top

.

Example: ‘I can either be your best friend or your worst enemy.’;

Most; largest.

Example: ‘Unpacking took the best part of a week.’;

To the most advantage; with the most success, cause, profit, benefit, or propriety.

(uncountable) The supreme effort one can make, or has made.

Example: ‘I did my best.’; ‘My personal best in that race is eighteen minutes, four seconds.’;

(uncountable) One's best behavior.

Example: ‘I was somewhat distant lately, and my lady promised me head every Tuesday of the week when I'm nice to her, so I better be on my best.’;

(countable) The person (or persons; or thing or things) that is (are) most excellent.

To surpass in skill or achievement.

(transitive) To beat in a contest

Having good qualities in the highest degree; most good, kind, desirable, suitable, etc.; most excellent; as, the best man; the best road; the best cloth; the best abilities.

Example: ‘When he is best, he is a little worse than a man.’; ‘Heaven's last, best gift, my ever new delight.’;

Most advanced; most correct or complete; as, the best scholar; the best view of a subject.

Most; largest; as, the best part of a week.

Utmost; highest endeavor or state; most nearly perfect thing, or being, or action; as, to do one's best; to the best of our ability.

In the highest degree; beyond all others.

Example: ‘He prayeth best, who loveth bestAll things both great and small.’;

To the most advantage; with the most success, case, profit, benefit, or propriety.

Example: ‘Had we best retire? I see a storm.’; ‘Had I not best go to her?’;

Most intimately; most thoroughly or correctly; as, what is expedient is best known to himself.

To get the better of.

the supreme effort one can make;

Example: ‘they did their best’;

the person who is most outstanding or excellent; someone who tops all others;

Example: ‘he could beat the best of them’;

Canadian physiologist (born in the United States) who assisted F. G. Banting in research leading to the discovery of insulin (1899-1978)

get the better of;

Example: ‘the goal was to best the competition’;

(superlative of `good') having the most positive qualities;

Example: ‘the best film of the year’; ‘the best solution’; ‘the best time for planting’; ‘wore his best suit’;

(comparative and superlative of `well') wiser or more advantageous and hence advisable;

Example: ‘it would be better to speak to him’; ‘the White House thought it best not to respond’;

in a most excellent way or manner;

Example: ‘he played best after a couple of martinis’;

it would be sensible;

Example: ‘you'd best stay at home’;

from a position of superiority or authority;

Example: ‘father knows best’; ‘I know better.’;

of the most excellent or desirable type or quality

Example: ‘how to obtain the best results from your machine’; ‘the best midfielder in the country’; ‘her best black suit’;

most enjoyable

Example: ‘some of the best times of my life’;

most appropriate, advantageous, or well advised

Example: ‘do whatever you think best’; ‘it's best if we both go’;

to the highest degree; most (used with verbs suggesting a desirable action or state or a successful outcome)

Example: ‘well-drained soil suits this plant best’; ‘you knew him best’; ‘they named the pictures they liked best’;

to the highest standard

Example: ‘the best-dressed man in Britain’; ‘the things we do best’;

most appropriately or usefully

Example: ‘jokes are best avoided in essays’; ‘pruning is best done in spring’;

that which is the most excellent, outstanding, or desirable

Example: ‘this film represents the best of mainstream popular cinema’; ‘buy the best you can afford’; ‘Sarah always had to be the best at everything’;

the finest aspect of a person or thing

Example: ‘he brought out the best in people’;

the highest standard or level that someone or something can reach

Example: ‘try to look your best’; ‘this is jazz at its best’;

one's smartest or most formal clothes

Example: ‘she dressed in her best’;

(in sport) a record performance

Example: ‘a lifetime best of 12.0 seconds’;

written at the end of a letter to wish a person well

Example: ‘See you soon, best, Michael’;

outwit or get the better of (someone)

Example: ‘she refused to allow herself to be bested’;

The highest or uppermost part of something.

Example: ‘His kite got caught at the top of the tree.’;

(irrespective of present orientation) the part of something that is usually the top.

Example: ‘We flipped the machine onto its top.’;

The uppermost part of a page, picture, viewing screen, etc.

Example: ‘Further weather information can be found at the top of your television screen.’; ‘Headings appear at the tops of pages.’;

A lid, cap or cover of a container.

Example: ‘Put a top on the toothpaste tube or it will go bad.’;

A garment worn to cover the torso.

Example: ‘I bought this top as it matches my jeans.’;

(nautical) A framework at the top of a ship's mast to which rigging is attached.

(baseball) The first half of an inning, during which the home team fields and the visiting team bats.

(archaic) The crown of the head, or the hair upon it; the head.

A child’s spinning toy; a spinning top.

Example: ‘The boy was amazed at how long the top would spin.’;

(heading) Someone who is eminent.

(archaic) The chief person; the most prominent one.

The highest rank; the most honourable position; the utmost attainable place.

Example: ‘to be at the top of one's class, or at the top of the school’;

(BDSM) A dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay.

A man penetrating or with a preference for penetrating during homosexual intercourse.

Example: ‘I prefer being a top, and my boyfriend prefers being a bottom.’;

(physics) A top quark.

The utmost degree; the acme; the summit.

(ropemaking) A plug, or conical block of wood, with longitudinal grooves on its surface, in which the strands of the rope slide in the process of twisting.

(sound) Highest pitch or loudest volume.

Example: ‘She sang at the top of her voice.’;

(wool manufacture) A bundle or ball of slivers of combed wool, from which the noils, or dust, have been taken out.

(obsolete, except in one sense of phrase on top of) Eve; verge; point.

The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface.

Topboots.

(golf) A stroke on the top of the ball.

(golf) A forward spin given to the ball by hitting it on or near the top.

(A table at which there is, or which has enough seats for) a group of a specified number of people eating at a restaurant.

To cover on the top or with a top.

Example: ‘I like my ice cream topped with chocolate sauce.’;

To cut or remove the top (as of a tree)

Example: ‘I don't want to be bald, so just top my hair.’; ‘Top and tail the carrots.’;

To excel, to surpass, to beat.

Example: ‘Titanic was the most successful film ever until it was topped by another Cameron film, Avatar.’;

To be in the lead, to be at number one position (of).

Example: ‘Celine Dion topped the UK music charts twice in the 1990s.’;

To commit suicide, (rare) to murder.

Example: ‘Depression causes many people to top themselves.’;

(BDSM) To be the dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay.

Example: ‘I used to be a slave, but I ended up topping.’; ‘Giving advice to the dominant partner on how to run the BDSM session is called "topping from the bottom".’;

To be the partner who penetrates in anal sex.

To anally penetrate.

(archaic) To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower.

Example: ‘lofty ridges and topping mountains’;

(archaic) To predominate.

Example: ‘topping passions’;

(archaic) To excel; to rise above others.

(nautical) To raise one end of (a yard, etc.), making it higher than the other.

(dyeing) To cover with another dye.

Example: ‘to top aniline black with methyl violet to prevent greening’;

To put a stiffening piece or back on (a saw blade).

To arrange (fruit, etc.) with the best on top.

(of a horse) To strike the top of (an obstacle) with the hind feet while jumping, so as to gain new impetus.

To improve (domestic animals, especially sheep) by crossing certain individuals or breeds with other superior breeds.

To cut, break, or otherwise take off the top of (a steel ingot) to remove unsound metal.

(golf) To strike (the ball) above the centre; also, to make (a stroke, etc.) by hitting the ball in this way.

Situated on the top of something.

(informal) Best; of the highest quality or rank.

Example: ‘She's in the top dance school.’;

(informal) Very good, of high quality, power, or rank.

Example: ‘He's a top lawyer.’; ‘That is a top car.’;

Rated first.

Example: ‘She came top in her French exam.’;

A child's toy, commonly in the form of a conoid or pear, made to spin on its point, usually by drawing off a string wound round its surface or stem, the motion being sometimes continued by means of a whip.

A plug, or conical block of wood, with longitudital grooves on its surface, in which the strands of the rope slide in the process of twisting.

The highest part of anything; the upper end, edge, or extremity; the upper side or surface; summit; apex; vertex; cover; lid; as, the top of a spire; the top of a house; the top of a mountain; the top of the ground.

Example: ‘The star that bids the shepherd fold,Now the top of heaven doth hold.’;

The utmost degree; the acme; the summit.

Example: ‘The top of my ambition is to contribute to that work.’;

The highest rank; the most honorable position; the utmost attainable place; as, to be at the top of one's class, or at the top of the school.

Example: ‘And wears upon his baby brow the roundAnd top of sovereignty.’;

The chief person; the most prominent one.

Example: ‘Other . . . aspired to be the top of zealots.’;

The crown of the head, or the hair upon it; the head.

Example: ‘All the stored vengeance of Heaven fallOn her ungrateful top !’;

The head, or upper part, of a plant.

Example: ‘The buds . . . are called heads, or tops, as cabbageheads.’;

A platform surrounding the head of the lower mast and projecting on all sudes. It serves to spead the topmast rigging, thus strengheningthe mast, and also furnishes a convenient standing place for the men aloft.

A bundle or ball of slivers of comkbed wool, from which the noils, or dust, have been taken out.

Eve; verge; point.

The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface.

Top-boots.

A stroke on the top of the ball.

To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower; as, lofty ridges and topping mountains.

To predominate; as, topping passions.

To excel; to rise above others.

Example: ‘But write thy, and top.’;

To strike a ball above the center.

To rise at one end, as a yard; - usually with up.

To cover on the top; to tip; to cap; - chiefly used in the past participle.

Example: ‘Like moving mountains topped with snow.’; ‘A mountOf alabaster, topped with golden spires.’;

To rise above; to excel; to outgo; to surpass.

Example: ‘Topping all others in boasting.’; ‘Edmund the base shall top the legitimate.’;

To rise to the top of; to go over the top of.

Example: ‘But wind about till thou hast topped the hill.’;

To take off the or upper part of; to crop.

Example: ‘Top your rose trees a little with your knife.’;

To perform eminently, or better than before.

Example: ‘From endeavoring universally to top their parts, they will go universally beyond them.’;

To raise one end of, as a yard, so that that end becomes higher than the other.

To cover with another dye; as, to top aniline black with methyl violet to prevent greening and crocking.

To put a stiffening piece or back on (a saw blade).

To arrange, as fruit, with the best on top.

To strike the top of, as a wall, with the hind feet, in jumping, so as to gain new impetus; - said of a horse.

To improve (domestic animals, esp. sheep) by crossing certain individuals or breeds with other superior.

To raise one end of, as a yard, so that that end becomes higher than the other.

To cut, break, or otherwise take off the top of (a steel ingot) to remove unsound metal.

To strike (the ball) above the center; also, to make (as a stroke) by hitting the ball in this way.

the upper part of anything;

Example: ‘the mower cuts off the tops of the grass’; ‘the title should be written at the top of the first page’;

the highest or uppermost side of anything;

Example: ‘put your books on top of the desk’; ‘only the top side of the box was painted’;

the top point of a mountain or hill;

Example: ‘the view from the peak was magnificent’; ‘they clambered to the summit of Monadnock’;

the first half of an inning; while the visiting team is at bat;

Example: ‘a relief pitcher took over in the top of the fifth’;

the highest level or degree attainable;

Example: ‘his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty’; ‘the artist's gifts are at their acme’; ‘at the height of her career’; ‘the peak of perfection’; ‘summer was at its peak’; ‘...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame’; ‘the summit of his ambition’; ‘so many highest superlatives achieved by man’; ‘at the top of his profession’;

the greatest possible intensity;

Example: ‘he screamed at the top of his lungs’;

platform surrounding the head of a lower mast

a conical child's plaything tapering to a steel point on which it can be made to spin;

Example: ‘he got a bright red top and string for his birthday’;

covering for a hole (especially a hole in the top of a container);

Example: ‘he removed the top of the carton’; ‘he couldn't get the top off of the bottle’; ‘put the cover back on the kettle’;

a garment (especially for women) that extends from the shoulders to the waist or hips;

Example: ‘he stared as she buttoned her top’;

a canvas tent to house the audience at a circus performance;

Example: ‘he was afraid of a fire in the circus tent’; ‘they had the big top up in less than an hour’;

go beyond;

Example: ‘She exceeded our expectations’; ‘She topped her performance of last year’;

pass by, over, or under without making contact;

Example: ‘the balloon cleared the tree tops’;

be at the top of or constitute the top or highest point;

Example: ‘A star tops the Christmas Tree’;

be ahead of others; be the first;

Example: ‘she topped her class every year’;

provide with a top;

Example: ‘the towers were topped with conical roofs’;

reach or ascend the top of;

Example: ‘The hikers topped the mountain just before noon’;

strike (the top part of a ball in golf, baseball, or pool) giving it a forward spin

cut the top off;

Example: ‘top trees and bushes’;

be the culminating event;

Example: ‘The speech crowned the meeting’;

finish up or conclude;

Example: ‘They topped off their dinner with a cognac’; ‘top the evening with champagne’;

situated at the top or highest position;

Example: ‘the top shelf’; ‘side fences’; ‘the side porch’;

not to be surpassed;

Example: ‘his top effort’;

the highest or uppermost point, part, or surface of something

Example: ‘Doreen stood at the top of the stairs’; ‘fill the cup almost to the top’; ‘the springy turf of the clifftop’;

the leaves, stems, and shoots of a plant, especially those of a vegetable grown for its root

Example: ‘some growers snip off the carrot's green tops in the field’;

the uppermost creamy layer of milk.

a lid, cover, or cap

Example: ‘he removed the top from his ballpoint’; ‘beer bottle tops’;

(in a sailing ship) a platform around the head of each of the lower masts, serving to extend the topmast rigging.

the highest or most important rank, level, or position

Example: ‘the people at the top must be competent’; ‘her talent will take her right to the top’;

the utmost degree or the highest level

Example: ‘she shouted at the top of her voice’;

a person or thing regarded as particularly good

Example: ‘professionally you're the tops’;

the highest gear of a motor vehicle

Example: ‘long gradients can be surmounted in top’;

the high-frequency component of reproduced sound.

a garment covering the upper part of the body and worn with a skirt, trousers, or shorts

Example: ‘she bought a couple of new tops’; ‘he was wearing a hooded top’;

the end of something that is furthest from the speaker or a point of reference

Example: ‘the bus shelter at the top of the road’;

short for topspin

a bundle of long wool fibres prepared for spinning.

one of six flavours of quark.

a man who takes the active role in anal intercourse with another man.

a conical, spherical, or pear-shaped toy that with a quick or vigorous twist may be set to spin.

used in names of top shells, e.g. strawberry top.

highest in position, rank, or degree

Example: ‘the top button of his shirt’; ‘a top executive’;

furthest away from the speaker or a point of reference

Example: ‘the top end of Fulham Road’;

exceed (an amount, level, or number); be more than

Example: ‘losses are expected to top £100 m this year’;

be at the highest place or rank in (a list, poll, or league)

Example: ‘her debut album topped the charts for five weeks’;

be taller than

Example: ‘he topped her by several inches’;

surpass (a person or previous achievement); outdo

Example: ‘he was baffled as to how he could top his past work’;

appear as the chief performer or attraction at

Example: ‘Hopper topped a great night of boxing’;

provide with a top or topping

Example: ‘toast topped with baked beans’;

complete (an outfit) with an upper garment, hat, or item of jewellery

Example: ‘a white dress topped by a dark cardigan’;

remove the top of (a vegetable or fruit) in preparation for cooking

Example: ‘I use the sharp edge of an old butcher's knife for topping and the back of the blade for cleaning the roots’;

reach the top of (a hill or other elevation)

Example: ‘they topped a rise and began a slow descent’;

kill

Example: ‘I wasn't sorry when he topped himself’;

mishit (the ball or a stroke) by hitting above the centre of the ball

Example: ‘he topped his drive on the fifth hole’; ‘sliced and topped shots’;

at the most

Example: ‘some civil servant earning twenty-eight thousand a year, tops’;