<B>topaz, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a hard mineral that occurs in crystals of various forms and colors. It is a compound of aluminum, silica, and fluorine. Transparent yellow, pink, and brown varieties of topaz are used as gems. <DD><B> 2. </B>a yellow variety of sapphire or quartz, used as a gem. <DD><B> 3. </B>either of two South American hummingbirds that have bright feathers. <DD><B> 4. </B>a clear, light brown with a trace of yellow. </DL>
<A NAME="topbanana">
<B>top banana,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>the leading comedian, as in burlesque. <BR> <I>Ex. He is the top banana. He is, indeed, the whole film (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a leader in any field. <BR> <I>Ex. [He] was passed over twice for ... promotion and word went round that he would never be top banana (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topboot">
<B>top boot,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a high boot having the upper part of different material and made to look as if turned down. <DD><B> 2. </B>any boot with a high top. </DL>
<A NAME="topbrass">
<B>top brass,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>high-ranking military officers. <DD><B> 2. </B>high officials. <BR> <I>Ex. the assembled top brass of the government (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<B>top cover,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>air cover at high altitude for a military force or flying mission. <BR> <I>Ex. Saberjets that were flying top cover for the reconnaissance craft (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the airplanes making up such protection. </DL>
<A NAME="topcross">
<B>top cross,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Genetics.) the offspring produced when a variety is crossed with one inbred line. </DL>
<A NAME="topdog">
<B>top dog,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the dog uppermost or on top in a fight. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal, Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. Norway has been top dog of the whaling business for more than half a century (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topdown">
<B>top-down, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) from the top down; covering all; comprehensive. </DL>
<A NAME="topdrawer">
<B>top drawer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) the highest level, as of importance or excellence. <BR> <I>Ex. a family in the top drawer of Washington society.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topdrawer">
<B>top-drawer, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) of the highest level, as of excellence or importance. </DL>
<A NAME="topdress">
<B>top-dress, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to spread manure or other fertilizer on the surface of (a piece of land), as before planting or between the rows after planting. <DD><B> 2. </B>to put crushed rock on (a road). </DL>
<A NAME="topdressing">
<B>top-dressing, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>fertilizer applied to the surface and not worked in. <DD><B> 2. </B>crushed rock or gravel put on a road without working it in. <DD><B> 3. </B>the application of such material. </DL>
<A NAME="tope">
<B>tope</B> (1), verb, <B>toped,</B> <B>toping.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to drink (alcoholic liquor) to excess or as a habit. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to be a toper. </DL>
<A NAME="tope">
<B>tope</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of several species of small sharks. </DL>
<A NAME="tope">
<B>tope</B> (3), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an ancient, dome-shaped monument in Buddhist countries for preserving relics or commemorating some event. </DL>
<A NAME="tope">
<B>tope</B> (4), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (in India) a clump, grove, or plantation of trees. </DL>
<A NAME="topechelon">
<B>top-echelon, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> high-ranking; of a high level of command or authority. <BR> <I>Ex. top-echelon administrators.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topectomize">
<B>topectomize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-mized,</B> <B>-mizing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to perform a topectomy on. </DL>
<A NAME="topectomy">
<B>topectomy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a surgical incision into the cortex of the brain to relieve the symptoms of psychosis. </DL>
<A NAME="topee">
<B>topee, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a helmet made of pith to protect the head against the sun. Also, <B>topi.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="toper">
<B>toper, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who drinks alcoholic liquor too much or as a habit. </DL>
<A NAME="topflight">
<B>top flight,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the highest level or rank. <BR> <I>Ex. In the top flight of Britain's Quality Cars (Sunday Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topflight">
<B>top-flight</B> or <B>topflight, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) excellent; first-rate; foremost. <BR> <I>Ex. The prophet Ezekiel was a top-flight scientific observer and recorder of important meteorological phenomena (Science News).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topfull">
<B>topfull, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> full to the top; brimful. </DL>
<A NAME="topgallant">
<B>topgallant, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> the mast or sail next above the topmast. It is the third section of a mast above the deck. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or belonging to a topgallant; next above the topmast. <DD><B> 2. </B>(of a deck, rail, or other structure) situated above a corresponding adjacent part. <BR> <I>Ex. topgallant forecastle.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) lofty; grand; first-rate. <BR> <I>Ex. To have a new planet swim into one's ken ... this is topgallant delight (Clifton Fadiman).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topgear">
<B>top gear,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) high gear. </DL>
<A NAME="topgrade">
<B>top-grade, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of the highest grade or quality. <BR> <I>Ex. top-grade steers.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="toph">
<B>toph, </B>noun. <B>=tophus.</B></DL>
<A NAME="tophamper">
<B>tophamper, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>the upper masts, sails, and rigging, on a ship. <DD><B> b. </B>all the spars and rigging above the deck. <DD><B> 2. </B>any unnecessary weight or rigging aloft or on the deck; hamper. </DL>
<A NAME="tophat">
<B>top hat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a tall, black silk hat worn by men in formal clothes; high hat. </DL>
<B>top-hatted, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> wearing a top hat. </DL>
<A NAME="tophe,itn">
<B>tophe, it n. =tophus.</B></DL>
<A NAME="topheavy">
<B>top-heavy, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>too heavy at the top. <DD><B> 2. </B>liable to fall or fail as from too great weight above; unstable. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) overcapitalized, as a business corporation. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) having too many officials of high rank. <BR> <I>Ex. a department top-heavy with full professors.</I> noun <B>top-heaviness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="tophet">
<B>Tophet</B> or <B>Topheth, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>hell; Gehenna. <DD><B> 2. </B>a place in the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, where human sacrifices were offered to Moloch. It was later used as a garbage dump and came to symbolize the place of eternal torment. </DL>
<B>tophus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-phi.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a small, hard, chalklike growth in the tissues and joints of the feet and hands, and around the teeth, and other structures, in severe cases of gout; chalkstone. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=tufa.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="topi">
<B>topi</B> (1), noun. <B>=topee.</B></DL>
<A NAME="topi">
<B>topi</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a large African antelope related to the hartebeest. </DL>
<A NAME="topiary">
<B>topiary, </B>adjective, noun, pl. <B>-aries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>trimmed or clipped into ornamental shapes. <BR> <I>Ex. topiary shrubs and trees.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with such trimming. <BR> <I>Ex. topiary art.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>topiary art. <DD><B> 2. </B>a topiary garden. </DL>
<A NAME="topic">
<B>topic, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a subject that people think, write, or talk about. <BR> <I>Ex. Newspapers discuss the topics of the day. The main topics at Mother's party were gardening and clothes.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a short phrase or sentence used in an outline to give the main point, as of a part of a speech or writing. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Rhetoric and Logic.) a class of considerations or arguments suitable for debate or discourse. <DD><B> 4. </B>a general rule or maxim. </DL>
<A NAME="topical">
<B>topical, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with topics of the day; of current or local interest. <BR> <I>Ex. topical news.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with a topic or topics. <BR> <I>Ex. Some books have topical outlines for each chapter.</I> <DD><B> 3a. </B>of or having to do with a place or locality; local. <DD><B> b. </B>limited or applied to a certain spot or part of the body; not general. <DD><I>noun </I> one of the stamps in a stamp collection based on a topic or theme, such as airplanes or world's fairs. <BR> <I>Ex. Nobody collects miscellaneously anymore. Let me show you some of my topicals (Scientific American).</I> adv. <B>topically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="topicality">
<B>topicality, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the quality of being topical. <BR> <I>Ex. I think there are some situations that a writer dare not turn into adventure stories without running the risk of opportunistic topicality (Paul Pickrel).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a topical reference or allusion. <BR> <I>Ex. The only thing wrong with the operas is Gilbert's outrageous puns and outdated topicalities (Sunday Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topicsentence">
<B>topic sentence,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a general introductory statement that announces or summarizes the idea of a paragraph or paragraphs. (Examples:) Philosophy has two important aims. Let us now discuss the contribution of engineering to medicine. There are many theories of economics. </DL>
<B>top kick,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a top or first sergeant. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person in authority; leader; boss. </DL>
<A NAME="topknot">
<B>topknot, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a knot or tuft of hair on the top of the head of a person or animal. <DD><B> 2. </B>a plume or crest of feathers on the head of a bird. <DD><B> 3a. </B>a knot or bow of ribbon worn by women as a headdress. <DD><B> b. </B>a bow of ribbon worn in a lace cap. </DL>
