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

Gonzalez won the top-line spot with 63% of the assembly vote to 37% for Danielson. —Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 28 Mar. 2026

For months, there was speculation that Guerin would swing big to bring in a top-line center. —Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 28 Mar. 2026

Noun

Then on Sunday against the New Jersey Devils, Lardis skated on the top line with Ryan Greene and Connor Bedard. —Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026

To find the companies whose top lines are least affected by rising oil prices, Katai compared the correlation of quarter same-store sales and share prices to moves in prices at the pump over the past five years. —Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 29 Mar. 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