topknot

noun

top·​knot ˈtäp-ˌnät 

plural topknots

1

: an ornament (such as a knot of ribbons or a pompom) forming a headdress or worn as part of a coiffure

2

: an arrangement of hair high on the head and usually in a knot

… Mrs. Richardson could only just make out the faint silhouette of Mia's head, the messy topknot perched at the crown of her head.

—Celeste Ng

3

: a crest of feathers or tuft of hair on the top of the head

Examples of topknot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The woolly fur on his backside is tightly clipped; at his head, the fur is combed into a topknot secured with a little pink bow. — Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026

In the cover photo of her carousel, the Babygirl star tied her strawberry blonde hair in a messy topknot as a rosy glow reflected from the façade of the building into her room. — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 8 Oct. 2026

Style a simple topknot with a pretty accessory for an eye-catching look. — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 5 May 2026

Davis, wearing a particularly Bo Peep-y set of pink panniers, turns the character into a masterpiece of clownery, sulking delightfully and throwing magnificent tantrums while her arrangement of topknots—the hair designer is Robert Pickens—bounces on her head like a prize curly lamb. — Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1688, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for topknot

• allot
• barat
• begot
• besought
• bethought
• bloodshot
• boycott
• buckshot
• crackpot
• croat
• culottes
• dashpot

Kids Definition

topknot

noun

top·​knot ˈtäp-ˌnät 

: a tuft of feathers or hair on the top of the head