Meaning & use
top dollar
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountableinformal
the highest amount of money that can be paid or charged for something.
Grammar: Used without an or an; often after pay, charge, or get.
Patterns
- pay top dollar for something
- charge top dollar
- get top dollar for something
Tourists pay top dollar for seats near the stage.
The dealer charged top dollar for a car that was ten years old.
She got top dollar when she sold her apartment downtown.
Common combinations
- pay top dollar
- We paid top dollar for front-row tickets.
- charge top dollar
- The hotel charges top dollar in the summer.
- get top dollar
- He got top dollar for his old guitar.
- top dollar for something
- They asked top dollar for a house that needed repairs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- a premium price
- More formal and neutral; it means a high price, not necessarily the highest.
- a high price
- General and neutral; it does not suggest the very top of the market.
Opposites
Commonly confused: top dollar or top-dollar?
top dollar vs top-dollar
The hyphenated form is used before a noun as an adjective, as in 'a top-dollar offer'. As a noun phrase, write it as two words.
Practice
Buyers were willing to pay ______ for the last two tickets.
Choose one answer.
Top dollar is an uncountable noun phrase, so it takes no article or plural ending. 'A top dollar' and 'top dollars' are not used.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “top dollar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.