top-shelf

adjective

ˈtäp-ˈshelf 

1

: of the best quality

top-shelf products

Reading does have one top-shelf tourist attraction, a gorgeous pagoda that sits atop a mountain.

—Joe Queenan

2

[from the placement of sexually explicit magazines for sale on high shelves out of the reach of children] British : containing pornographic material

top-shelf magazines

This year, retailers are going to come under increased pressure to clean up their acts. Of course, they're not obliged to sell top-shelf mags.

—The Grocer

Synonyms

• A-OK
• A1
• awesome
• bang-up
• banner
• beautiful
• blue-chip
• blue-ribbon
• boffo
• bonny [chiefly British]
• bonnie
• boss [slang]
• brag
• brave
• bully
• bumper
• capital
• choice
• classic
• cool [slang]
• corking
• crackerjack
• cracking
• dandy
• divine
• dope [slang]
• down [slang]
• dynamite
• excellent
• fab
• fabulous
• famous
• fantabulous [slang]
• fantastic
• fine
• first-class
• first-rate
• first-string
• five-star
• four-star
• frontline
• gangbusters
• gangbuster
• gilt-edged
• gilt-edge
• gone [slang]
• grand
• great
• groovy
• heavenly
• high-class
• hot
• hype [slang]
• immense
• jim-dandy
• keen
• lovely
• marvelous
• marvellous
• mean
• neat
• nifty
• noble
• number one
• No. 1
• numero uno
• out-of-sight [slang]
• par excellence
• peachy
• peachy keen
• phat [slang]
• prime
• primo [slang]
• prize
• prizewinning
• quality
• radical [slang]
• righteous [slang]
• sensational
• slick
• splendid
• stellar
• sterling
• superb
• superior
• superlative
• supernal
• swell
• terrific
• tip-top
• top
• top-notch
• top-of-the-line
• topflight
• topping [chiefly British]
• unsurpassed
• wizard [chiefly British]
• wonderful

Examples of top-shelf in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hartman held the puck until Talbot committed and beat the goaltender with a top-shelf shot over his glove hand to make it 2-0 with just 4.7 seconds left in the second period. —John Shipley, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2024

To customers eager for a legal high, stores like Zaza Waza — slang for top-shelf weed — looked every bit the real deal. —Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024

The studio didn’t share any details about what the film is about beyond the involvement of its top-shelf talent. —Brent Lang, Variety, 11 Apr. 2024

Get The Recipe 43 of 54 Apple-Pie Infused Bourbon Turn a plain bottle of hooch into a top-shelf indulgence, infused with sweet autumn flavor. —Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 28 Mar. 2024

Any kind of vodka will work, so there's no need to spring for a top-shelf bottle. —Caitlin Sole, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Mar. 2024

This season builds to their biggest day of the year — 4.20 — as the gang attempts to expand nationwide and release their own top-shelf cannabis brand. —Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2024

The key: Spring for plush pillows as well as sheets made with top-shelf materials like organic, long-staple cotton. —Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024

The private event was an industry schmooze par excellence, something like if Jay Gatsby decided to throw an unofficial SXSW showcase, and the tunes, like everything else, were top-shelf. —Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined at sense 1