top-line

1 of 2

adjective

ˈtäp-ˌlīn 

1

a

: most featured or prominently advertised : leading

… its oldest top-line act, the Rolling Stones, has long been taken as a symbol of the excesses of rock's nightmare side.

—Ethan Mordden

b

: of the highest quality, level, or degree : top-of-the-line

The lauded ladies received top-line Southern hospitality …

—Tim Allis

The new chips may well make moderately priced workhorse computers—the type many people buy—perform more like today's top-line models.

—Consumer Reports

2

business : relating to or concerned with gross sales or revenue

For real value creation, the merged company has to produce top-line growth and better margins through superior offerings to customers.

—Geoffrey Colvin

top line

2 of 2

noun

variants or less commonly topline

ˈtäp-ˌlīn 

plural top lines also toplines

1

business : the line at the top of a financial report that shows gross sales or revenue before the deduction of expenses or losses

The top line is weak, with a meager 0.3% sales gain last year, to $669 million, which doesn't even keep up with inflation.

—Jack Gage

When I first started writing about business, earnings stories focused on two numbers: sales (the top line on a company's income statement) and net income (the bottom line, after deducting all expenses including taxes).

—Kathleen Pender

compare bottom line sense 2a

2

usually topline : the outline of the top of the body of an animal (such as a dog or horse)

A long-legged, long-moving individual with long topline is considered the optimum type for the horse show.

—Linda Connors

Examples of top-line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Historically, management, like many other growth companies, has prioritized top-line growth with limited attention to the company's profitability, leaving Appian's free cash flow margins in the low single digits, while comparable businesses like Pega generate margins north of 30%. —Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026

That said, its stock has underperformed the market and top-line growth is modest. —Diane Brady, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026

Noun

Mackie Samoskevich moved to the top line with Rodrigues and Reinhart as a result. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026

The fact Kirby Dach had a second straight strong game on the top line with Suzuki and Cole Caufield — including scoring the go-ahead goal 12 seconds into the third period — is a big data point in that sense, with Dach needing a new contract at the end of the season. —Arpon Basu, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1869, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for top-line

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine