to top the charts
4
3.8
- phrasal verb
:
encabezar las listas
- The shortage did not stop the device from topping the charts for the week.
- topping the charts with songs
- topped the charts with hits
- topped the charts for seven weeks
Examples
-
In 1950, the Irish-American singer Rosemary Clooney's rendition of "Come On-a My House" topped the charts and made her a star.
Academic text (2003) -
Darius Rucker topped the charts again with the release of his sophomore country album, Charleston, SC 1966, on Capitol Records Nashville.
Blog text (21) -
Catch Me might not have topped the charts when it was released, but it is maintaining its status on music charts.
Blog text (13) -
How do you go viral on X or how do you top the charts on Spotify?
-
When "Bad Romance" was number 2 in December 2009, "Empire State of Mind" was topping the charts.
Blog text (24) -
First released in May 2007, the album topped the charts in multiple countries, including the UK, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Russia, and at number two in the US and Australia.
Blog text (20) -
Ms. Swift gave an emotional performance on the Stand Up to Cancer telethon on Sept. 7, and it has been topping the charts ever since.
Blog text (26) -
At 17, this youngster from Pacoima, California, topped the charts with his hits Donna, La Bamba, and Come On, Let's Go.
-
This Way sold 1.108 million copies in its first week in the US, debuted atop the Billboard 200, and topped the charts in more than 20 other countries.
Blog text (14) -
The band's latest single is currently topping the charts worldwide, making it one of their biggest hits yet.
Synonyms
146
2.4
To be better than others in a contest or ranking
Antonyms
How Popular
4
3.8
- Literature
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to reach the highest position in a music chart' is directly and compositional from 'top' (to exceed others/take first place) combined with 'chart' (a ranking of recordings); knowing these constituents allows a learner to infer the MWE. The article 'the' is non-contentful and the verb+ranking pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the words would readily understand this phrase.
Etymology
The phrase top the charts comes from lists of the most popular songs, called charts, that music magazines and radio stations used to publish. To top a chart meant to be at the highest place on that list, so the phrase means 'to be the most popular'.