top dog

noun
1.
a person, group, or nation that has acquired a position of highest authority.
2.
the winner of a competition or rivalry; champion: He was determined to be top dog at the swimming meet.
3.
Animal Behavior. the alpha male or alpha female in a dominance hierarchy.
Origin:
1885–1900

Related forms
top-dog, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
top dog
 
—n
informal the leader or chief of a group

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Top dog is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
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Slang Dictionary

top dog definition


  1. n.
    the person in charge or in power; a company officer. : The reporter tried to get hold of one of the top dogs but couldn't get past the secretary.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

top dog

see top banana.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
No question about it, though: the sneaker is top dog this summer.
Pinning the dog to the ground and growling at him so that you can show your top
  dog.
Coyotes became top dog, filling the wolf's ecological niche.
If you're not top dog you have to keep an eye out for him.
Idioms & Phrases
top banana
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