pop-top

[ pop-top ]

adjective

1. (of a can) having a top with a tab or ring that when pulled up or off exposes a precut hole or peels off the entire lid.

noun

1. Also pop top. a can having such a top:

   drinking beer from a pop-top.

2. the top itself.
3. the tab or ring fastener, especially when removed from such a can:

   a vest made entirely of pop-tops.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pop-top¹

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

Example Sentences

Foster’s theme from the Brat Pack classic was the rare instrumental track to crash the pop Top 20 in the 1980s.

From Los Angeles Times

Built around clever wordplay and droll humor — and more than a little macho bluster — both topped the country chart, with “Beer for My Horses,” a twangy, Rolling Stones-style rocker featuring Willie Nelson on vocals, crossing over to the pop Top 40.

From New York Times

Pop open a can of soda made from an aluminum alloy, and the many dislocations that are already in the lid -- created when it was shaped into its final form -- interact and spawn new dislocations by the trillions, which cascade into absolute critical failure as the top of the can flexes and the pop top snaps open.

From Science Daily

Huey “Piano” Smith, whose two-fisted keyboard style and rambunctious songs propelled the sound of New Orleans R&B into the pop Top 10 in the late 1950s, died on Feb. 13 at his home in Baton Rouge.

From New York Times

Mr. Smith and the Clowns reached the pop Top 10 in 1958 with the wry “Don’t You Just Know It.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• bottle
• bucket
• canister
• jar
• package