top-heavy

[ top-hev-ee ]
/ ˈtɒpˌhɛv i /

adjective

having the top disproportionately heavy; liable to fall from too great weight above.
relatively much heavier or larger above the center or waist than below: a top-heavy wrestler.
Finance.
  1. having a financial structure overburdened with securities that have priority in the payment of dividends.
  2. overcapitalized.

Origin of top-heavy

First recorded in 1525–35; top1 + heavy

OTHER WORDS FROM top-heavy

top-heav·i·ly, adverb top-heav·i·ness, noun

Example sentences from the Web for top-heavy

British Dictionary definitions for top-heavy

top-heavy

adjective

unstable or unbalanced through being overloaded at the top
finance (of an enterprise or its capital structure) characterized by or containing too much debt capital in relation to revenue or profit so that too little is left over for dividend distributions; overcapitalized
(of a business enterprise) having too many executives

Derived forms of top-heavy

top-heavily, adverb top-heaviness, noun