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
Ethan Mordden
b
: of the highest quality, level, or degree : top-of-the-line
The lauded ladies received top-line Southern hospitality …—Tim Allis
Tim AllisThe new chips may well make moderately priced workhorse computers—the type many people buy—perform more like today's top-line models.—Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports2
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
Geoffrey Colvin
variants
or less commonly topline
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
Jack GageWhen 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
Kathleen Pender2
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
Linda ConnorsExamples of top-line in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Thomas Drance, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
The Defense Department's top-line budget in the 2025 continuing resolution is $892.5 billion, nearly half of the government's overall discretionary spending.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Mar. 2025
The solid top-line start to 2025 continues on the wider revenue momentum built throughout 2024.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 27 Mar. 2025
Strong free cash flow momentum: Beyond top-line growth, Broadcom's free cash flow (FCF) increased even faster than revenue, which is evidence of strong cash generation and operational efficiency by Broadcom.
—Gurufocus, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for top-line
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Adjective
Absent several top-line forwards due to injury and rostering a patchwork mix of centremen, the Canucks managed to win their second consecutive game in the New York area, defeating the New York Islanders 5-2.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
The Defense Department's top-line budget in the 2025 continuing resolution is $892.5 billion, nearly half of the government's overall discretionary spending.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Mar. 2025
The solid top-line start to 2025 continues on the wider revenue momentum built throughout 2024.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 27 Mar. 2025
Strong free cash flow momentum: Beyond top-line growth, Broadcom's free cash flow (FCF) increased even faster than revenue, which is evidence of strong cash generation and operational efficiency by Broadcom.
—Gurufocus, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for top-line
Cite this Entry
“Top-line.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/top-line. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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