top-down

[top-doun] /ˈtɒpˈdaʊn/

adjective, Computers.

Origin

1960-65

structured programming

noun, Computers.

the design and coding of programs by a methodology (top-down) that successively breaks problems into smaller, nested subunits.

Origin

1970-75

Examples from the web for top-down

In a top-down system, this has created a bottleneck as people wait for a signal from above.
According to the president, poverty is reduced not from a top-down approach but from the bottom up.
Biologists define the series of top-down changes as a trophic cascade.
Air traffic, on the other hand, is already highly regulated by a top-down system of airport controllers.
They are becoming a top-down coalition of elite professionals and the dependent poor.
In many ways, then, it's a form of consulting within a top-down structure.
The government initially tried a top-down approach, she says.
Perhaps there is a well-directed balance between top-down emails taking care of business and no-holds-barred endless discussion.
The fact is today's students are growing up in a networked world and not a linear-controlled-top-down world.
Here that includes a lot of top-down direction and strong government support.

British Dictionary definitions for top-down

adjective

controlled, directed, or organized from the top