Definition

1. Noun:
   • A man's formal hat: A type of hat for men, typically worn with formal attire, characterized by a tall, flat-topped crown and often made of silk or fine fur.
   • A woman's short coat: A lightweight, often stylish, short coat worn by women.
   • An excellent joke or remark: An exceptionally clever or funny comment that is considered better than all others.
   • The best person in a field: The person who is the most outstanding, excellent, or successful in a particular area; someone who surpasses all others.
   • A worker who removes tops: A person whose job is to cut off the top parts of things, such as trees or vegetables.
   • A worker who makes or adds tops: A person who creates or attaches the top part to something.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Hat):
  • He tipped his topper as the lady walked by.
  • For the wedding, the gentlemen wore morning suits and silk toppers.
• Noun (Coat):
  • She wore a elegant fur topper over her evening gown.
• Noun (Joke):
  • His final pun was the topper of the night, leaving everyone in stitches.
• Noun (Best Person):
  • In her class, she is the absolute topper, scoring highest in every subject.
  • He's the topper in the sales department this quarter.
• Noun (Worker who cuts tops):
  • The topper moved through the field, efficiently removing the carrot greens.
• Noun (Worker who makes tops):
  • The cabinet topper carefully fitted the marble slab onto the wooden base.

Advanced Usage

• "To be a topper": To be the best or most successful.
  • She's always been a topper, from school right through to her career.

Variants and Related Words

• Top (verb/noun): The source word. As a verb, it means to be higher than, surpass, or cover. As a noun, it means the highest part.
• Top hat (noun): A full, formal term for the tall, flat-crowned hat, synonymous with the first meaning of "topper".

Synonyms

• For "best person": leader, champion, number one, ace, star, front-runner.
• For "hat": top hat, stovepipe hat, high hat.
• For "joke": zinger, cracker, killer line.

Related Phrases

• To top it all off: An idiom meaning to add a final, often significant, detail to a series of events.
  • The car broke down, it started to rain, and to top it all off, I lost my keys. (Note: This phrase uses the verb "top," not the noun "topper").

Noun

1. a man's hat with a tall crown; usually covered with silk or with beaver fur
2. a woman's short coat
3. an exceedingly good witticism that surpasses all that have gone before
4. the person who is most outstanding or excellent; someone who tops all others
   • he could beat the best of them
5. a worker who cuts tops off (of trees or vegetables etc.)
6. a worker who makes or adds the top to something