What does tope mean?
Tope is an informal verb meaning to drink alcohol heavily. It is especially associated with British English, where “they were toping till dawn” evokes prolonged and sometimes rowdy drinking, although the word is also recorded in American English. The verb has a dated, rough-edged quality and is considerably less neutral than simply “drink.” In South Asian English, tope is also a noun for a liquor shop or public house, a regional use distinct from the verb's established drinking sense. The noun can additionally denote a bout or period of heavy drinking in older and literary usage. Etymologically, tope has belonged to English since the late sixteenth century, but its ultimate source is disputed; French taper, “to drink heavily,” is a frequently proposed comparison. The word is useful because it specifies not the type of drink but the manner and degree of consumption: a person can tope wine, beer, or spirits, generally in excess.
To drink alcohol heavily or excessively.
"They spent the evening toping and telling stories."
Informal and chiefly British in modern usage; often conveys heavy or unrestrained drinking and may carry a slightly disapproving tone.
In South Asian English, a liquor shop or public house; in older or literary usage, a bout of heavy drinking.
"The village had one tope, a dim room serving cheap liquor."
The liquor-shop sense is regional to South Asia. The drinking-bout sense is now chiefly old-fashioned or literary.
The standard plural of the noun; used for multiple liquor shops in South Asian English.
"Two topes stand near the market entrance."
Tope is an old drinking word with a murky past: it had reached English by the late 1500s, yet its ultimate origin is still debated.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tope come from?
Tope has been used in English since the late sixteenth century. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, though it has often been associated with French taper, meaning “to drink heavily.” No group of securely established cognates can be identified with confidence.
Related word forms
How tope is actually used
The verb is informal, often somewhat disapproving, and especially associated with British English. The South Asian noun is a regional term for a premises where alcoholic drinks are sold; the separate noun sense for a bout of heavy drinking is now old-fashioned.
Easily confused with tope
Tope means to drink alcohol heavily, whereas top can mean the highest point, the best position, or a spinning toy.