1
: controlled, directed, or instituted from the top level
a top-down corporate structure
2
: proceeding by breaking large general aspects (as of a problem) into smaller more detailed constituents : working from the general to the specific
top-down programming
top-down design

Examples of top-down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But hamstrung, now, by rigid and top-down directives that prioritize ideological conformity over practical solutions, local politicians are ill equipped to tackle the mounting pressures of fiscal insolvency and unemployment. Jude Blanchette, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025 In fact, research shows that leaders in a typical Fortune 500 company squander more than 500,000 days each year due to ineffective, top-down decision-making processes. Sherzod Odilov, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025 And most importantly, ISIS as a brand has remained somewhat intact, still popular, and massively disseminated online both through a top-down approach but even more horizontally by young people who take it upon themselves to produce and widely disseminate high-quality propaganda. Dan Perry, Newsweek, 3 Jan. 2025 To avoid this issue, water your houseplants using the top-down watering method or alternate bottom watering with overhead watering. Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for top-down 

Word History

Etymology

from the phrase from the top down

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of top-down was in 1930

Dictionary Entries Near top-down

Cite this Entry

“Top-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/top-down. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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