top-line

1 of 2

adjective

ˈtäp-ˌlīn 

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

b

: of the highest quality, level, or degree : top-of-the-line

The lauded ladies received top-line Southern hospitality …

—Tim Allis

The new chips may well make moderately priced workhorse computers—the type many people buy—perform more like today's top-line models.

—Consumer Reports

2

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

top line

2 of 2

noun

variants or less commonly topline

ˈtäp-ˌlīn 

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

When 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

2

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

Examples of top-line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Jimmy Vesey — a healthy scratch of late until Adam Edstrom’s injury — moved up to top-line right wing alongside Artemi Panarin and J.T. Miller. —Peter Baugh, The Athletic, 9 Feb. 2025

Beauty surpassed Wall Street’s top-line forecasts in the third quarter, but lowered its full-year forecast on the back of a softer-than-expected January. —Kathryn Hopkins, WWD, 6 Feb. 2025

The cuts could be as deep as 66 percent, with one person indicating the top-line budget number for the National Science Foundation could start at $3 billion. —Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 6 Feb. 2025

Affirm Holdings — Shares of the payment company jumped more than 9% following a top-line beat for the fiscal second quarter. —Hakyung Kim, CNBC, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1869, in the meaning defined at sense 2