be on top of someone—
1. (of an approaching vehicle) suddenly come too close to a person:
- It was raining and I couldn’t see anything until the car was right on top of me and I dove out of the way.
2. said of a small space where people find it difficult to have any privacy:
- He still lives in Downsea. Near enough for me to babysit but not so close that we’re on top of him.
3. said of smth. involving more work than one can cope with:
- By no stretch of the imagination could our work have been termed exhausting, but it was always on top of you.
top someone—
1. exceed a person in height or weight:
- She was so tall that she topped her father by a head.
2. have the supremacy over smb.:
- Dance in movies begins with Fred Astaire, and no one has ever really topped him.
3. (sl.) kill a person:
- Tom King wasn’t a good enough character to warrant months of interest in who topped him.