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Glite Dictionary
📈 Reach the highest 🚪 Leave at peak 🏗️ Finish the top
to top out

to top out

5.6
To put the final piece on the top of a building
  • phrasal verb
  • /tɑp aʊt/
  • Jargon
translation icon : terminar la parte superior
  • Once the renovations are complete, this historic building will top out at 75 feet.

Examples

  • This is likely explained by the program's multi-threading support—LW9.6 tops out at 16 threads, which means core resources go unused in a 32-thread system.

    Blog text (12)

  • The construction team plans to top out the new skyscraper by the end of the month.

  • The project is expected to top out next week, marking a significant milestone in its development.

Synonyms

to top
vsto top out
46 1.5

To reach the highest point or part of something

is specifically about finishing the uppermost built part rather than just forming a peak
to cap
vsto top out
30 3.8

To form a cover on the top of something

is about finishing the uppermost built part rather than merely covering it

How Complete

to complete
∞ 1.0
to top out
  • Jargon
5.6
to build
∞ 1.0
to start
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

top out infinitive
topped out past
topped out past participle
topping out present participle
tops out third person singular

Morphology

top + out

The components suggest a partial compositional meaning: 'top' points to the highest level and the particle 'out' can signal reaching a limit or completion, so a learner might infer something like 'reach the top'. However, the specific nuance of leaving or abandoning a career just as one achieves success is not directly derivable from the parts and requires prior exposure, making the expression only partially predictable.

Etymology

Top out comes from a building tradition where workers put a small tree or flag on the last beam when the highest part is finished. That's why top out can mean 'to finish the topmost part' of a structure.