Definition of "top-down" []

• Of or relating to a hierarchical structure or process that progresses from a large, basic unit to smaller, detailed subunits: a top-down description of the department's function. (adjective)
• Commanded by or originating from ones having the highest rank. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Like the skills children develop playing "Simon Says," the skills children use to pay attention to what's happening in the present moment what they're feeling, seeing, tasting, touching, and smelling right now are called 'top-down' attention control and come from focusing on the task at hand."
• "For example, some students are described as top-down readers."
• "In the argot of Wall Street, broad economic growth projections are called top-down forecasts because they incorporate a wide range of macroeconomic factors, like manufacturing output and the unemployment rate."