tops

1 of 2

adjective

: topmost in quality, ability, popularity, or importance
used predicatively
is tops in his field

tops

2 of 2

adverb

: at the very most
will cost $50, tops

Examples of tops in a Sentence

Adjective He is tops in his field. You're tops in my book! Adverb It takes me 15 minutes tops to do the dishes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Senior Linzie Wernert leads the team in points (13.6) and rebounds (7), while sophomore Hadley Crosier is tops in assists (3.5) and steals (3.3). Brian Haenchen, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Jan. 2023 Also a sophomore is goalie Yaniv Perets, who has a 1.67 goals-against average, second in the country, and four shutouts, which is tops in Division I. Perets was named to the Mike Richter Award watch list. Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 19 Jan. 2023 Spacious rooms promise the ultimate in serenity, service is tops without being intrusive, the gastronomy is consistently excellent, and activities skew experiential to once-in-a-lifetime. Paul Rubio, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Jan. 2023 According to Hockey-Reference, his 85.5 point shares (an all-encompassing metric) is tops in the class. Dallas News, 19 Nov. 2022 The switch-hitting Waco native’s .410 on-base percentage as an Astro is the best ever and his .549 slugging percentage is also tops. Clint Davis, Chron, 8 Oct. 2022 Led by quarterback Max Duggan, the Horned Frogs are tops in the conference in yards per play (7.7), yards per game (527) and points per game (46). John Scheibe, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2022 Thanks in large part to Chapman’s hangtime and ball placement, Auburn leads the SEC and is sixth nationally in net punting (44.11 yards per attempt) and is tops in the league and fifth nationally in punt return defense. Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 7 Oct. 2022 Luis Arraez is tops in the American League after had a pair of hits Thursday to improve to .315 on the season. Andrew Mahoney, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Sep. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tops.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

plural of top entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1948, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1937, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tops was in 1937

Dictionary Entries Near tops

Cite this Entry

“Tops.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tops. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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