Main
Main adjective - Coming before all others in importance.
Usage example: this is the main point of the study—everything else is secondary
Top is a synonym for main in principal topic. In some cases you can use "Top" instead the word "Main" as an adjective or a noun, when it comes to topics like important.
Top
Top adjective - Highest in rank or authority.
Usage example: nearly all of the top officials in the state's department of corrections resigned after the scandal
Main is a synonym for top in principal topic. Sometimes you can use "Main" instead the word "Top" as an adjective or a noun, if it concerns topics such as characteristic, important, chief.
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
Both words in one sentence
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In Spawn, John Leguizamo gets top billing but Michael Jai White (who gets second billing) is actually the main character, while Leguizamo is the main antagonist.
Source: Billing Displacement - Other than the main character, several other 'top players' display similar abilities.
Source: The Magic Poker Equation -
As the main character, Travis has to murder the top ten ranked assassins in the nation, one by one, to rise through the ranks and gain the top spot for himself.
Source: Gotta Kill Them All
Cite this Source
Top and Main. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/main/top
Main & Top. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/main/top>.
Top or Main. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/main/top.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "main" and "top" have occurred on timeline