top dogs
Those in charge
Top dogs are the dominant figures in a group or hierarchy—the leaders, winners, or those with the most power and status.
The phrase derives from dogfighting, where the victor stands over the defeated animal.
After years as an underdog, the company became the top dog in streaming.
Usually plural when referring to people collectively in charge.
- bossesManagers or raised studs
- head honchosLeaders of an organization
- overlordsSupreme authoritarian rulers
- executivesSenior corporate officers
- titansDominant powerful figures
captains of industry · leader · kingpins · shot callers · command · alpha · moguls · tycoons · director · champion · magnates · chiefs · suit · big wigs · bigwigs · frontrunners · big shots · authority
- eliteselites, plutocrats, oligarchs, aristocrats, blue bloods
- VIPscelebrities, superstars, head of state, stars, legend
- top tierelite, premier, premium, prime, best
- eliteelite, elites, aristocrats, nobility, best
- famous peoplecelebrity, star, stars, legend, icon
- leadersleader, boss, leaders, bosses, chiefs
top dogsunderdogs
Competitors expected to fail
bottom feeders · small fry · nobodies · peons · subordinates
top dogsunderdogs
Competitors expected to fail
long shots · dark horses · Davids · outsiders · no-hopers
dogged, watchdog, underdog, topmost, hotdog, top dog, doghouse, dogfight, lapdog