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Top vs Above - What's the difference?

top | above |

In archaic terms the difference between top and above

is that top is to excel; to rise above others while above is in addition.

As nouns the difference between top and above

is that top is the highest part or component of an object while above is heaven.

As adjectives the difference between top and above

is that top is best; of the highest quality or rank while above is of heaven; heavenly.

As adverbs the difference between top and above

is that top is rated first while above is directly overhead; vertically on top of.

As a verb top

is to cover on the top or with a top.

As a preposition above is

physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing.

top

English

Noun

(wikipedia top) (en noun)
  • (rfc-sense)The highest part or component of an object.
  • :
  • *
  • *:But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶.
  • #The part viewed, or intended to be viewed, nearest the edge of the visual field normally occupied by the uppermost visible objects.
  • #:
  • #A lid, cap or cover of a container.
  • #:
  • #A garment worn to cover the torso.
  • #:
  • #(lb) A framework at the top of a ship's mast to which rigging is attached.
  • #(lb) The first half of an inning, during which the home team fields and the visiting team bats.
  • #(lb) The crown of the head, or the hair upon it; the head.
  • #*(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
  • #*:from top to toe
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:All the stored vengeance of Heaven fall / On her ungrateful top !
  • A child’s spinning toy; a spinning top.
  • :
  • (lb) Someone who is eminent.
  • #(lb) The chief person; the most prominent one.
  • #*(John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • #*:to be the top of zealots
  • #The highest rank; the most honourable position; the utmost attainable place.
  • #:
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:And wears upon his baby brow the round / And top of sovereignty.
  • #*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 29, author=Tom Rostance, work=BBC Sport
    • , title= Stoke 2-1 Besiktas , passage=After drawing their first game in Kiev the Potters are now top of Europa League Group E ahead of back-to-back games with Maccabi Tel-Aviv.}}
  • (lb) A dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay.
  • A man penetrating or with a preference for penetrating during homosexual intercourse.
  • :
  • (lb) A top quark.
  • The utmost degree; the acme; the summit.
  • *(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
  • *:The top of my ambition is to contribute to that work.
  • (lb) A plug, or conical block of wood, with longitudinal grooves on its surface, in which the strands of the rope slide in the process of twisting.
  • (lb) Highest pitch or loudest.
  • :
  • *, chapter=7
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.}}
  • (lb) A bundle or ball of slivers of combed wool, from which the noils, or dust, have been taken out.
  • (lb) Eve; verge; point.
  • *(Richard Knolles) (1545-1610)
  • *:He was upon the top of his marriage with Magdaleine.
  • The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface.
  • :(Knight)
  • Topboots.
  • :(Charles Dickens)

    • Synonyms

    * head (of a page) * (lid) cap, cover, lid * (LGBT) pitcher, active, seme (Japanese fiction)

    Antonyms

    * (part of an object furthest away in the opposite direction from that in which an unsupported object would fall) base, bottom, underside * foot (of a page) * (garment) bottoms * (BDSM) bottom * (gay sexual slang) bottom, passive, pathic

    Derived terms

    * big top * curly top * desktop * hilltop * housetop * laptop * mountaintop * on top * on top of * on top of the world * palmtop * rooftop * tabletop * tiptop * top and tail * top-down * top-hole * topless * top of mind * top of the hour * top of the morning * topping * treetop

    Verb

    (topp)
  • To cover on the top or with a top.
    • I like my ice cream topped with chocolate sauce.
  • To cut or remove the top (as of a tree)
    • I don't want to be bald, so just top my hair.
    Top and tail the carrots.
  • To excel, to surpass, to beat.
    • Titanic was the most successful film ever until it was topped by another Cameron film, Avatar.
  • * Shakespeare, King Lear
    • Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed, / And my invention thrive, Edmund the base / Shall top th' legitimate. I grow; I prosper
  • To be in the lead, to be at number one position (of).
    • Celine Dion topped the UK music charts twice in the 1990s.
  • * 2013 , Phil McNulty, "[http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25442148]", BBC Sport , 26 December 2013:
    • Liverpool topped the table on Christmas Day and, after Arsenal's win at West Ham earlier on Boxing Day, would have returned to the top had they been the first team to beat City at home this season.
  • (British, slang) To commit suicide, (rare) to murder.
    • Depression causes many people to top themselves.
  • (BDSM) To be the dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay.
    • I used to be a slave, but I ended up topping .
    Giving advice to the dominant partner on how to run the BDSM session is called "topping from the bottom".
  • (slang, gay sexuality) To be the partner who penetrates in anal sex.
  • (archaic) To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower.
    • lofty ridges and topping mountains
    (Derham)
  • (archaic) To predominate.
    • topping passions
  • * John Locke
    • influenced by topping uneasiness
  • (archaic) To excel; to rise above others.
    • (Dryden)

    Synonyms

    * (excel) beat, better, best, do better than, exceed, excel, outdo, surpass, trump, worst * (kill) ** (standard) kill, murder, slaughter, slay ** do in, do away with, take out, wipe out

    Derived terms

    * (kill) top oneself * untopped

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (informal) Best; of the highest quality or rank.
  • (informal) Very good, of high quality.

    • Related terms

    * top banana * top dog * top drawer * top hat

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Rated first.
    • She came top in her French exam.

    Synonyms

    * first

    See also

    * topple

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * 1000 English basic words ----

    above

    English

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing.
  • In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface; — opposed to below'' or ''beneath .
  • * (rfdate) Translation of (Genesis) 2:20,
    • Fowl that may fly above the earth.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=[http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/william-e-conner-1 William E. Conner]
    • , title=[http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/2013/3/an-acoustic-arms-race An Acoustic Arms Race] , volume=101, issue=3, page=206-7, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.}}
  • Farther north than.
  • Rising; appearing out of reach height-wise.
  • Figuratively, higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; higher in measure, degree, volume, or pitch, etc. than; out of reach; not exposed to; not likely to be affected by; incapable of negative actions or thoughts.
  • * (rfdate) (Marlowe),
    • Thy worth […] is actions above my gifts.
  • * (rfdate) translation of 36:13,
    • I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun.
  • Higher in rank, status, or position.
  • In addition to; besides.
  • Surpassing in number or quantity; more than; as, above a hundred.
  • In preference to.
  • Too proud to stoop; averse to; disinclined; too honorable to give.
  • (theater) Upstage.
  • Beyond; on the other side.

    • Usage notes

    * (surpassing in number or quantity) Passing into the adverbial sense.

    Derived terms

    * above all * above average * above one's bend * above the law * above the salt * over and above

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Directly overhead; vertically on top of.
  • * {{quote-magazine, title=The climate of Tibet: Pole-land
    • , date=2013-05-11, volume=407, issue=8835, page=80 , magazine=(The Economist) , url=http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21577341-worlds-third-largest-area-ice-about-undergo-systematic , passage=Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.}}
  • Higher in the same page; earlier in the order as far as writing products go.
  • * (rfdate)
    • That was said above .
  • Into or from heaven; in the sky.
    • He's in a better place now, floating free as the clouds ''above .
  • In a higher place; upstairs; farther upstream.
  • Higher in rank, power, or position.
    • He appealed to the court above .
  • (archaic) In addition.
  • More in number.
  • Above zero; above freezing.
    • It was a cold day at only 5 above .
  • (biology) On the upper half or the dorsal surface of an animal.
    • The sparrow I saw was rufous above and off-white below.

    Derived terms

    * "Above" is also used as the first part of a compound in the sense of before'', ''previously''; as, ''above''-cited, ''above''-described, ''above''-mentioned, ''above''-named, ''above''-said, ''above''-specified, ''above''-written, ''above -given.

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Of heaven; heavenly.
  • Being located higher on the same page or on a preceding page.

    • Usage notes

    * Above is often used elliptically as an adjective by omitting the word said'', ''mentioned'', ''quoted , or the like: ** the above (-said) observations ** the above (-cited) reference ** the above (-quoted) articles

    Noun

    (-)
  • Heaven.
  • Something, especially a person's name in legal documents, that appears higher on the same page or on a preceding page.
  • Higher authority.

    • Usage notes

  • Above is often used further elliptically as a noun by omitting the noun, where it is should be clear what is omitted.
    • See the above .

    Related terms

    * abovesaid * aboves'd

    References

    * Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The vertical axis", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition , Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8 * *

    Statistics

    * 200 English basic words English locatives 1000 English basic words