Word.ws English Dictionary

topping out

topping out is the present participle and gerund of top out.

Meaning of top out

Verb

top out (third-person singular simple present tops out, present participle topping out, simple past and past participle topped out)

  1. (intransitive) To reach one's highest point.
    • With her 390 V-8 spinning at redline, she tops out at 130 miles per hour.
    Synonyms:
    max out, peak
  2. (intransitive) To quit one's career during a period of success.
  3. (intransitive) To complete the construction of a tall building, originally by putting on a "topping-out" course.
  4. (intransitive) To complete a route by reaching and climbing over its top.
    Synonyms:
    crest, summit

Noun

topping out (uncountable)

  1. The finishing of a building's roof, often accompanied by a special ceremony.
    • ‘We met at official functions, topping-out ceremonies. He was lonely and didn't realize it.’2000, JG Ballard, Super-Cannes, Fourth Estate, published 2011, page 114

Questions about topping out

What does topping out mean?
Topping out means the finishing of a building's roof, often accompanied by a special ceremony.
What is topping out the present participle and gerund of?
Topping out is the present participle and gerund of top out.
What part of speech is topping out?
Topping out is a noun.

Words near topping out in the dictionary

  1. topping lift
  2. topping lifts
  3. topping off
  4. topping one's boom
  5. topping oneself
  6. topping out
  7. topping the charts
  8. topping up
  9. toppingly
  10. toppingness
  11. toppings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: topping out (page history and authors); top out (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “topping out.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/topping_out. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.