<B>topsail, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a sail attached to a yard on a topmast of a square-rigged ship; upper topsail or lower topsail. <DD><B> 2. </B>a square sail on the topmast of certain schooners, especially on the foremast. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=gaff-topsail.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="topsecret">
<B>top secret,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a most important and highly guarded secret. </DL>
<A NAME="topsecret">
<B>top-secret, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) of utmost secrecy; extremely confidential. <BR> <I>Ex. intelligence from top-secret sources.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topseeded">
<B>top-seeded, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> given the best position in a seeded list, as in a tennis or other tournament; top-ranked. </DL>
<B>top sergeant,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Informal.) the first sergeant of a military company; top kick. </DL>
<A NAME="topshell">
<B>top shell,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any of a group of marine mollusks with a spiral, regularly conical, shell. </DL>
<A NAME="topside">
<B>topside, </B>noun, adverb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>Also, <B>topsides.</B> <DD><B> a. </B>the upper part of a ship's side, especially the part above the water line. <DD><B> b. </B>the upper part of a ship, especially the part above the main deck, as distinct from the engine room, hold, etc. <DD><B> 2. </B>(British.) the outer side of a round of beef. <DD><B> 3. </B>the upper side or highest level of anything. <DD><I>adv. </I> <B>1. </B>to, toward, or on the bridge or upper deck. <BR> <I>Ex. The captain ordered the crew topside.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>on the top; in the highest position. <BR> <I>Ex. to sit topside at the table.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of the topside; situated on the topside. <BR> <I>Ex. a topside cabin.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) of the highest level or position. <BR> <I>Ex. "Wherever we went, we met topside people," Rockefeller said (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topsider">
<B>Topsider, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Trademark.) a soft leather or canvas shoe with a low heel and soft rubber sole, designed for casual wear, originally on a boat. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>topsider,</B> any similar shoe. <BR> <I>Ex. Visors, at $2, make fine accessories to the sporty look, and so do topsiders (McCall's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topsidesounder">
<B>topside sounder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a series of artificial satellites designed jointly by the United States and Canada to obtain data on the ionosphere by measuring the reflected signals of radio waves beamed down into the atmosphere. </DL>
<A NAME="topsoil">
<B>topsoil, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the upper part of the soil; surface soil. <BR> <I>Ex. Farmers need rich topsoil for their crops.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>loam or other earth from or in this part of the soil, usually consisting of sand, clay, and decayed organic matter. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to remove the topsoil from (land). <DD><B> 2. </B>to cover with topsoil. </DL>
<A NAME="topspin">
<B>topspin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a forward rolling motion given to a ball in the direction of its flight or roll, as in tennis or billiards. A baseball pitcher who throws a drop gives the ball topspin to make it curve down. <BR> <I>Ex. His game, emphasizing tricky forehand topspin and an undersliced backhand, still had an unorthodox look (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topsy">
<B>Topsy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) <BR><I>expr. <B>grow like Topsy,</B> </I>to grow or expand rapidly; burgeon. <BR> <I>Ex. The tax relationship between the provincial and dominion governments has grown like Topsy (Canada Month).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="topsyturvy">
<B>topsy-turvy, </B>adverb, adjective, noun, pl. <B>-vies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adv. </I> adj. <B>1. </B>upside down. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) in confusion or disorder. <BR> <I>Ex. A lively child is a godsend, even if she turns the whole house topsy-turvy (Harriet Beecher Stowe).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> confusion; disorder. adv. <B>topsy-turvily.</B> noun <B>topsy-turviness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="topsyturvydom">
<B>topsy-turvydom, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a state of affairs or a place in which everything is topsy-turvy. </DL>
<A NAME="topweight">
<B>top weight,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the horse carrying the heaviest weight in a race. </DL>
<A NAME="topweighted">
<B>top-weighted, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (of a horse) carrying the heaviest weight as a handicap in a race. </DL>
<A NAME="toque">
<B>toque, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a hat or (formerly) bonnet or cap without a brim, or with a very small brim, worn by women. <DD><B> 2. </B>a round cap or bonnet, especially of velvet, usually with a plume, formerly worn by men and women. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=tuque.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="toquilla">
<B>toquilla, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the jipijapa, whose palmlike leaves are used for Panama hats. <DD><B> 2. </B>the fiber or leaves of the jipijapa. </DL>
<A NAME="tor">
<B>tor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a high, rocky, or craggy hill, knoll, etc. </DL>
<A NAME="torah">
<B>torah, </B>noun, pl. <B>toroth</B> or <B>torahs.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> in Jewish usage: <DD><B> 1. </B>Also, <B>Torah.</B> <DD><B> a. </B>the Old Testament. <DD><B> b. </B>the Mosaic law; Pentateuch. <BR> <I>Ex. to study the torah, to read the Torah in the synagogue.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>a parchment scroll on which the Pentateuch is written. <BR> <I>Ex. to take a torah out of the ark.</I> <DD><B> d. </B>the body of Jewish teachings and traditions, including the Talmud and later rabbinical commentaries and codes. <DD><B> 2a. </B>any instruction, law, or judicial decision. <DD><B> b. </B>divine revelation, as manifested in judicial decisions. </DL>
<A NAME="torbernite">
<B>torbernite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a mineral, a hydrated phosphate of uranium and copper, found in bright-green, tabular crystals; chalcolite. It is a minor ore of uranium. </DL>
<A NAME="torc">
<B>torc, </B>noun. <B>=torque </B>(def. 3).</DL>
<A NAME="torch">
<B>torch, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>a light to be carried around or stuck in a holder on a wall. A piece of pinewood, or anything that burns easily, makes a good torch. <BR> <I>Ex. The Statue of Liberty holds a torch.</I> (SYN) firebrand. <DD><B> b. </B>a lamp carried or supported on a pole. <DD><B> 2. </B>a device for producing a very hot flame, used especially to burn off paint, to solder metal, and to melt metal, such as an acetylene torch or blowtorch. <DD><B> 3. </B>(British.) a flashlight. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) something thought of as a source of enlightenment or guidance. <BR> <I>Ex. the torch of civilization, the torch of liberty.</I> (SYN) lodestar. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to furnish, or light, with a torch. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) we sit, watching sunlight torch the wooded west (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(in plastering) to point the inside joints of (slating) with a mixture of lime and hair. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to flare like a torch; rise like smoke from a torch. <BR> <I>Ex. "Law! how them clouds torch up, we shall have rain" (James Halliwell).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S.) to catch fish, or hunt, by torchlight. <BR><I>expr. <B>carry a</B> (or <B>the</B>) <B>torch,</B> (Slang.) <DD><B> a. </B>to be in love, especially without being loved in return. </I> <I>Ex. He has been carrying the torch for her for months.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to crusade (for); campaign (for a cause). <BR> <I>Ex. Oddly enough, it is Coronel's younger brother, Rafael, who is carrying the torch for a new Mexican art (Saturday Review).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>hand on the torch,</B> </I>to pass on the tradition; continue or perpetuate the custom, practice, or belief. <BR> <I>Ex. Those [sonnets] handed on the torch of courtly love for good and ill to the Elizabethans (C. C. Abbott).</I> adj. <B>torchlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="torchbearer">
<B>torchbearer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who carries a torch. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a leader of a cause or movement; standardbearer. <BR> <I>Ex. Local 3 has made itself the torchbearer in labor's drive for a shorter work week (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="torched">
<B>torched, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> furnished with or lighted by torches. </DL>
<A NAME="torchere">
<B>torchere, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a tall, ornamental candlestick or lamp stand. </DL>
<A NAME="torchfish">
<B>torchfish, </B>noun, pl. <B>-fishes</B> or (collectively) <B>-fish.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a deep-sea fish with a dorsal spine carrying a shiny bulb like a torch above the head. </DL>
<A NAME="torchlight">
<B>torchlight, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> the light of a torch or torches. <DD><I>adj. </I> carrying or lighted by torchlights. <BR> <I>Ex. torchlight parades the night before football games (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="torchonlace">
<B>torchon lace,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a handmade linen lace with loosely twisted threads in simple, open patterns. <DD><B> 2. </B>a machine-made imitation of this in linen or cotton. </DL>
<A NAME="torchsinger">
<B>torch singer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a singer of torch songs. <BR> <I>Ex. So began a four-year career as a torch singer, which took her into the spotlights of Manhattan's flossiest nightclub (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="torchsong">
<B>torch song,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a sad love song, especially of unrequited love. <BR> <I>Ex. singing in deep and straightforward tones, a collection of old-time torch songs (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="torchwood">
<B>torchwood, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of various resinous woods for making torches. <DD><B> 2. </B>a tree yielding such wood. </DL>
<A NAME="torchy">
<B>torchy, </B>adjective, <B>torchier,</B> <B>torchiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> of, having to do with, or characteristic of a torch song or a torch singer. <BR> <I>Ex. Pop tunes of a torchy temper, sung with a fine ear for theatrical effect (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="tore">
<B>tore</B> (1), verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> the past tense of <B>tear</B> (2). <BR> <I>Ex. She tore her dress on a nail yesterday.</I> </DL>
<B>toreador, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a man who fights a bull in an arena; bullfighter, especially one mounted on a horse (a term no longer used in Spanish bullfighting). </DL>
<A NAME="toreadorpants">
<B>toreador pants,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> snug-fitting trousers ending at mid-calf, worn by women. </DL>
<A NAME="torero">
<B>torero, </B>noun, pl. <B>-reros.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a bullfighter who is not mounted, such as a matador or a banderillero. </DL>
