top dog

/ˌtɑp ˌdɔg/

Other forms: top dogs

The person who is the best at something, or who is in charge, is the top dog — whether it's the most popular kid at school, a classroom teacher, or the President of the United States.

You may have heard the term underdog, or someone who is unlikely to win. The top dog is the opposite, and both come from dog fighting, in which one dog is victorious — the top dog — and the one on the bottom — the underdog — is the loser.

Definitions of top dog

1. noun

   a person who is in charge
   synonyms: chief, head

   types:

   administrator, executive

   someone who manages a government agency or department

   administrator, decision maker

   someone who administers a business

   capo

   the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate

   department head

   the head of a department

   don, father

   the head of an organized crime family

   general, superior general

   the head of a religious order or congregation

   general manager

   the highest ranking manager

   grand dragon

   a high ranking person in the Ku Klux Klan

   head of household

   the head of a household or family or tribe

   secretary

   a person who is head of an administrative department of government

   academic administrator

   an administrator in a college or university

   commissioner

   a government administrator

   director, manager, managing director

   someone who controls resources and expenditures

   DCI, Director of Central Intelligence

   the head of the United States Intelligence Community and director of the Central Intelligence Agency

   executive, executive director

   a person responsible for the administration of a business

   hosteller, hotel manager, hotelier, hotelkeeper, hotelman

   an owner or manager of hotels

   land agent

   a person who administers a landed estate

   materfamilias, matriarch

   a female head of a family or tribe

   paterfamilias, patriarch

   the male head of family or tribe

   prefect

   a chief officer or chief magistrate

   Attorney General, US Attorney General, United States Attorney General

   the person who holds the position of secretary of the Justice Department

   Agriculture Secretary, Secretary of Agriculture

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Agriculture

   Commerce Secretary, Secretary of Commerce

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Commerce

   Defense Secretary, Secretary of Defense

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Defense Department

   Education Secretary, Secretary of Education

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Education

   Energy Secretary, Secretary of Energy

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Energy

   Secretary of Health and Human Services

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Health and Human Services

   Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Housing and Urban Development

   Labor Secretary, Secretary of Labor

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Labor

   Secretary of State

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of State

   Interior Secretary, Secretary of the Interior

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Interior Department

   Secretary of the Treasury, Treasury Secretary

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Treasury Department

   Secretary of Transportation, Transportation Secretary

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Transportation

   Secretary of Veterans Affairs

   the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Veterans Affairs

   Secretary General

   a person who is a chief administrator (as of the United Nations)

   security director

   head of a private security force working for a business or industry

   triumvir

   one of a group of three sharing public administration or civil authority especially in ancient Rome

   undersecretary

   a secretary immediately subordinate to the head of a department of government

   vice chancellor

   a deputy or assistant to someone bearing the title of chancellor

   type of:

   leader

   a person who rules or guides or inspires others