top-tier

adjective

ˈtäp-ˈtir 

: of the highest level or rank with regard to quality, reputation, or importance

Top-tier wines are the result of artisanal production techniques that demand rigorous attention to detail and, on occasion, financial sacrifice.

—Daniel Sogg

In general, the top-tier schools measure their success by the salaries that their graduates earn …

—Peter Baida

… leave fellow Republicans open to attack on what's shaping up as a top-tier issue in the 2008 elections.

—Mark Hertsgaard

Yes, this Kansas team is loaded with top-tier talent …

—Joe Posnanski

Kemp's first objective, his handlers said, was to establish himself as a top-tier contender.

—Lucy Howard>

Examples of top-tier in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Recruiting top-tier talent has been a key factor in Rebellions’ success, says Ki-Jun Kim, CEO of Kakao Ventures, who first met Park in 2019 and decided to invest 2 billion won in Rebellions within an hour of their conversation. —John Kang, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

Leng emphasized that this move was a strategic one, allowing TMN to syndicate top-tier news programming while leveraging the network’s strong existing relationships and listener base. —Ethan Stone, USA Today, 13 Apr. 2025

Yet while many of today’s top-tier production models are capable of such speed, opportunities to actually reach it responsibly—and lawfully—are extremely limited. —Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 13 Apr. 2025

While the team looks to be a top-tier contender once again in 2025, one NFL analyst does not believe that to be the case. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above