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
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.
The Oilers are about to become especially top-heavy with Draisaitl, McDavid and Bouchard (presumably), not to mention Darnell Nurse carrying a $9.25 million AAV and a full no-movement clause. Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 18 June 2025 Both Oklahoma City and Indiana are reflective of the modern NBA, where rules governing the league's salary cap have turned teams away from the model of the past decade of signing two and sometimes three major stars and assembling a roster top-heavy with talent, and toward a model based on depth. Andrew Greif, NBC news, 9 June 2025 Staking may also be appropriate if the root ball is significantly smaller in relation to the tree’s size, or if the tree has a top-heavy canopy. Heather Zidack, Hartford Courant, 7 June 2025 Finally, though, the director holds his top-heavy premise together just well enough to arrive at an impact no less effective for being characteristically unsubtle. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for top-heavy

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of top-heavy was circa 1531

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Top-heavy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/top-heavy. Accessed 25 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

top-heavy

adjective
ˈtäp-ˌhev-ē
: having the top part too heavy for the lower part

More from Merriam-Webster on top-heavy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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