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

This makes Gadjovich the fifth Panthers player sidelined long-term along with captain and top-line center Aleksander Barkov, star winger Matthew Tkachuk, fourth-line center Tomas Nosek and veteran defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 Nov. 2025

But instead of galvanizing around the efforts of two absolutely top-line drivers, Ferrari’s senior management has come down on them hard for airing their frustrations at the reality of a situation not of their making. —Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025

Noun

As the seconds ticked down in the second period, the Edmonton Oilers’ top line couldn’t make any headway to regain control of the puck from the Columbus Blue Jackets. —Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025

Late Monday, after driving third-quarter revenues up 17 percent, the company forecast a top line of $687 million to $690 million for the full year, well above the $675 million analysts forecast. —Evan Clark, Footwear News, 11 Nov. 2025

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