top-heavy

comparative more top-heavy · superlative most top-heavy

1. having a high centre of gravity, and liable to topple

   Legion: Your new platform is inefficient. It has low-volume hydraulics and is top-heavy.

   2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Normandy SR-2

2. having an excessive number of administrators or managers
3. Having a significant portion of the plan assets allocated to key employees to the detriment of lower-wage employees.

   A defined benefit plan is top-heavy if[…] the present value of the accrued benefits (PVAB) under the plan for the key employees exceeds 60 percent of the PVAB under the plan for all employees.

   2017 September 10, IRS, “4.72.5 Top-Heavy Plans”, in Internal Revenue Service

4. typically a womanhaving a disproportionately large upper body, especially the bust

   The top-heavy woman finished her whisky. She left fatty finger marks on the glass.

   1970, John McIntosh, The Stonefish, page 112

   1 more example

   "My figure is topheavy, and I always thought a woman with a large bust had to look mature. Now I know better." An all-in-one girdle is a lifesaver for women like Miss B.

   1941, “Fashion”, in Good Housekeeping, volume 112, page 52

5. slangDrunk.

   He who confines his drink to the same level as that of the poor unreasoning soul-less animals, who never take too much and are never “top-heavy,” cannot avoid irritation.

   1886, “A field-day among the city guardians”, in Punch, volume 90, page 61