Define Top using "exact" search strategy.
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| Source: gcide | Top \Top\, n. [CF. OD. dop, top, OHG., MNG., & dial. G. topf;
perhaps akin to G. topf a pot.]
1. 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.
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2. (Rope Making) 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.
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| Source: gcide | Top \Top\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Topped}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Topping}.]
1. To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower; as, lofty ridges
and topping mountains. --Derham.
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2. To predominate; as, topping passions. "Influenced by
topping uneasiness." --Locke.
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3. To excel; to rise above others.
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But write thy, and top. --Dryden.
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4. (Golf) To strike a ball above the center.
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5. (Naut.) To rise at one end, as a yard; -- usually with up.
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| Source: gcide | Top \Top\, n. [AS. top; akin to OFries. top a tuft, D. top top,
OHG. zopf end, tip, tuft of hair, G. zopf tuft of hair,
pigtail, top of a tree, Icel. toppr a tuft of hair, crest,
top, Dan. top, Sw. topp pinnacle, top; of uncertain origin.
Cf. {Tuft}.]
1. 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.
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The star that bids the shepherd fold,
Now the top of heaven doth hold. --Milton.
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2. The utmost degree; the acme; the summit.
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The top of my ambition is to contribute to that
work. --Pope.
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3. 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.
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And wears upon his baby brow the round
And top of sovereignty. --Shak.
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4. The chief person; the most prominent one.
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Other . . . aspired to be the top of zealots.
--Milton.
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5. The crown of the head, or the hair upon it; the head.
"From top to toe" --Spenser.
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All the stored vengeance of Heaven fall
On her ungrateful top ! --Shak.
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6. The head, or upper part, of a plant.
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The buds . . . are called heads, or tops, as
cabbageheads. --I. Watts.
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7. (Naut.) 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.
--Totten.
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8. (Wool Manuf.) A bundle or ball of slivers of comkbed wool,
from which the noils, or dust, have been taken out.
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9. Eve; verge; point. [R.] "He was upon the top of his
marriage with Magdaleine." --Knolles.
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10. The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or
circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface.
--Knight.
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11. pl. Top-boots. [Slang] --Dickens.
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12. (Golf)
(a) A stroke on the top of the ball.
(b) A forward spin given to the ball by hitting it on or
near the top.
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Note: Top is often used adjectively or as the first part of
compound words, usually self-explaining; as, top stone,
or topstone; top-boots, or top boots; top soil, or
top-soil.
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{Top and but} (Shipbuilding), a phrase used to denote a
method of working long tapering planks by bringing the but
of one plank to the top of the other to make up a constant
breadth in two layers.
{Top minnow} (Zool.), a small viviparous fresh-water fish
({Gambusia patruelis}) abundant in the Southern United
States. Also applied to other similar species.
{From top to toe}, from head to foot; altogether.
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| Source: gcide | Top \Top\, v. t.
1. To cover on the top; to tip; to cap; -- chiefly used in
the past participle.
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Like moving mountains topped with snow. --Waller.
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A mount
Of alabaster, topped with golden spires. --Milton.
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2. To rise above; to excel; to outgo; to surpass.
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Topping all others in boasting. --Shak.
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Edmund the base shall top the legitimate. --Shak.
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3. To rise to the top of; to go over the top of.
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But wind about till thou hast topped the hill.
--Denham.
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4. To take off the or upper part of; to crop.
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Top your rose trees a little with your knife.
--Evelyn.
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5. To perform eminently, or better than before.
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From endeavoring universally to top their parts,
they will go universally beyond them. --Jeffrey.
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6. (Naut.) To raise one end of, as a yard, so that that end
becomes higher than the other.
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7. (Dyeing) To cover with another dye; as, to top aniline
black with methyl violet to prevent greening and crocking.
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8. To put a stiffening piece or back on (a saw blade).
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9. To arrange, as fruit, with the best on top. [Cant]
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10. To strike the top of, as a wall, with the hind feet, in
jumping, so as to gain new impetus; -- said of a horse.
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11. To improve (domestic animals, esp. sheep) by crossing
certain individuals or breeds with other superior.
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12. (Naut.) To raise one end of, as a yard, so that that end
becomes higher than the other.
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13. To cut, break, or otherwise take off the top of (a steel
ingot) to remove unsound metal.
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14. (Golf) To strike (the ball) above the center; also, to
make (as a stroke) by hitting the ball in this way.
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{To top off},
(a) to complete by putting on, or finishing, the top or
uppermost part of; as, to top off a stack of hay;
hence, to complete; to finish; to adorn.
(b) to completely fill (an almost full tank) by adding
more of the liquid it already contains.
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