top-heavy

adjective

ˈtäp-ˌhe-vē 

1

: having the top part too heavy for the lower part

2

: having too high a proportion of administrators

a top-heavy bureaucracy

3

: oversupplied with one element at the expense of others : lacking balance

a novel top-heavy with description

Examples of top-heavy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Galleries’ sales are top-heavy, with a top-selling artist accounting for 38% of sales on average and their top three earners accounting for 59%. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 28 Oct. 2026

Yet the yachting market increasingly mirrors the new top-heavy structure of global wealth, with centimillionaires and billionaires gaining wealth the fastest. — Robert Frank, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026

Look for an iPad stand that isn’t top-heavy but has a large base. — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2026

Until the playoffs each year, Major League Baseball can be credibly labeled a top-heavy business that’s tailor-made for the industry’s biggest markets at the expense of smaller locales. — David K. Li, NBC news, 26 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for top-heavy

• replevy
• bevy
• chevy
• heavy
• levee
• levy

Kids Definition

top-heavy

adjective

ˈtäp-ˌhev-ē

: having the top part too heavy for the lower part