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
Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
While Montreal’s top line combined for 7 points in this game alone, the Sabres’ top-line players have combined for 4 points the entire series.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 15 May 2026
Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 18 May 2026
Ducks’ top line fades The Ducks’ top line of Leo Carlsson centering Chris Kreider and Troy Terry had a quiet ending to the series after a very productive opening round against Edmonton.
—Eric Stephens, New York Times, 15 May 2026
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Adjective
Even if top-line growth for the Cloud division remains strong, a sudden spike in depreciation costs reported on the income statement could likely pressure net income margins.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
While Montreal’s top line combined for 7 points in this game alone, the Sabres’ top-line players have combined for 4 points the entire series.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 15 May 2026
Noun
The analyst noted that Salesforce's AI initiatives added less than 2% to its top line in the most recent quarter.
—Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 18 May 2026
Ducks’ top line fades The Ducks’ top line of Leo Carlsson centering Chris Kreider and Troy Terry had a quiet ending to the series after a very productive opening round against Edmonton.
—Eric Stephens, New York Times, 15 May 2026
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 20 May. 2026.
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