top-down
adjective
1
: controlled, directed, or instituted from the top level
a top-down corporate structure
2
: proceeding by breaking large general aspects (as of a problem) into smaller more detailed constituents : working from the general to the specific
top-down programming
top-down design
Examples of top-down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Vaseline Originals campaign taps into a wider trend of brands shifting from top-down communication toward co-creation.
—
Kian Bakhtiari, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
As science communication evolved, the top-down one-way model was superseded by a two-way communication model that conceived of the public not as passive receivers but as active participants, the model of public engagement or conversation.
—Prodromos Yannas, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 May 2026
And fundamentally, that top-down government solutions have a tendency to stifle bottom-up solutions that can emerge from the voluntary cooperation of free people.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 8 May 2026
And the European Union’s top-down push for renewable energy has created opposition in many communities.
—IEEE Spectrum, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for top-down
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Kian Bakhtiari, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
As science communication evolved, the top-down one-way model was superseded by a two-way communication model that conceived of the public not as passive receivers but as active participants, the model of public engagement or conversation.
—Prodromos Yannas, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 May 2026
And fundamentally, that top-down government solutions have a tendency to stifle bottom-up solutions that can emerge from the voluntary cooperation of free people.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 8 May 2026
And the European Union’s top-down push for renewable energy has created opposition in many communities.
—IEEE Spectrum, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for top-down
Cite this Entry
“Top-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/top-down. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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