top dollar
noun
: the highest amount being paid for a commodity or service
… willing to pay top dollar to get them …—
Dean Failey
Dean FaileyExamples of top dollar in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nike pays top dollar to its biggest names, but its payment structure can be based on performance, both in terms of results and reliability.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Skydance started selling movies to Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, all of which were suddenly hungry for big movies with big stars and willing to pay top dollar for them.
—Reeves Wiedeman, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Advertisement Boeing Starliner, April NASA paid Boeing top dollar back in 2014 to build a crew vehicle to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS).
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 2 Jan. 2026
Unsurprisingly, the Cadillac of Beverly Hills is asking top dollar for its Celestiq.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for top dollar
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Skydance started selling movies to Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, all of which were suddenly hungry for big movies with big stars and willing to pay top dollar for them.
—Reeves Wiedeman, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Advertisement Boeing Starliner, April NASA paid Boeing top dollar back in 2014 to build a crew vehicle to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS).
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 2 Jan. 2026
Unsurprisingly, the Cadillac of Beverly Hills is asking top dollar for its Celestiq.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for top dollar
Cite this Entry
“Top dollar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/top%20dollar. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
