top out
phrasal verb
topped out; topping out; tops out
: to reach the highest amount or level and stop increasing
—often + at
Interest rates are expected to top out at 15 percent.
Examples of top out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2016, as an earthquake swarm topped out with a magnitude 4.3 quake in a different part of the region — directly beneath the Salton Sea, just south of where the mighty San Andreas fault ends — scientists issued a rare warning advising of an elevated risk for a big San Andreas fault earthquake.
—
Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024
GameStop rose another 60%, topping out at $48.75 a share.
—Peter Green, Quartz, 18 May 2024
This follows a Saturday during which MIA temperature peaked at 3:53 p.m., 93 degrees, and, an hour later, the heat index topped out at 99.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 12 May 2024
Mercedes currently advertises a starting hourly wage of $23.50 for full-time production members with pay topping out at about $34 in four years, according to a state worker training website.
—Kim Chandler, Fortune, 11 May 2024
The former dropped last November and peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 that month, while the latter topped out at No. 27 in March.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Billie Eilish’s upcoming Hit Me Hard and Soft, out next week, will be limited to 10 new tracks, while the new record by the Avett Brothers tops out at nine.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 8 May 2024
Video capture tops out at 4K resolution at 60 frames per second (fps).
—Iyaz Akhtar, PCMAG, 7 May 2024
Since there is an upper limit to money’s effect on joy — studies have shown that global happiness tops out at income levels of about $75,000 a year — chasing infinite wealth may be psychologically futile.
—Amy X. Wang, New York Times, 7 May 2024
Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024
GameStop rose another 60%, topping out at $48.75 a share.
—Peter Green, Quartz, 18 May 2024
This follows a Saturday during which MIA temperature peaked at 3:53 p.m., 93 degrees, and, an hour later, the heat index topped out at 99.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 12 May 2024
Mercedes currently advertises a starting hourly wage of $23.50 for full-time production members with pay topping out at about $34 in four years, according to a state worker training website.
—Kim Chandler, Fortune, 11 May 2024
The former dropped last November and peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 that month, while the latter topped out at No. 27 in March.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Billie Eilish’s upcoming Hit Me Hard and Soft, out next week, will be limited to 10 new tracks, while the new record by the Avett Brothers tops out at nine.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 8 May 2024
Video capture tops out at 4K resolution at 60 frames per second (fps).
—Iyaz Akhtar, PCMAG, 7 May 2024
Since there is an upper limit to money’s effect on joy — studies have shown that global happiness tops out at income levels of about $75,000 a year — chasing infinite wealth may be psychologically futile.
—Amy X. Wang, New York Times, 7 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'top out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near top out
Cite this Entry
“Top out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/top%20out. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
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