Topless describes a woman wearing nothing on the upper half of her body, so her breasts are uncovered. It is used both as an adjective and as an adverb: 'a topless woman', 'she sunbathed topless'.

Topless describes a woman wearing nothing on the upper half of her bodytopless是形容一個女性上半身什麼都沒穿, so her breasts are uncovered胸部沒有遮住。 It is used both as an adjective and as an adverb它可以當形容詞也可以當副詞用: 'a topless woman', 'she sunbathed topless'「a topless woman上空的女子」、「she sunbathed topless她裸著上身做日光浴」。

The commonest situations are beaches in Europe, where topless sunbathing is ordinary and legal in many places, and the adult entertainment business — a topless bar, a topless dancer — where the word does most of its work and where it can sound seedy. Because of that second use, the word carries a whiff of the adult world even when the situation is completely innocent, so choose it carefully.

The commonest situations are beaches in Europe最常見的場合是歐洲的海灘, where topless sunbathing is ordinary and legal in many places那裡topless日光浴在很多地方是稀鬆平常又合法的, and the adult entertainment business — a topless bar, a topless dancer還有成人娛樂產業——a topless bar上空酒吧、a topless dancer上空舞者 — where the word does most of its work and where it can sound seedy這個字大部分的「工作」都在這裡發生,聽起來可能有點低俗。 Because of that second use因為有第二種用法, the word carries a whiff of the adult world even when the situation is completely innocent這個字就算用在完全無害的情境裡,也帶著一絲成人世界的味道, so choose it carefully所以要小心選用。

Two things worth knowing. First, the word is almost only used about women; if a man takes his shirt off, English says 'bare-chested', 'shirtless' or 'with no shirt on', not 'topless'. That asymmetry is in the language, not in the bodies.

Two things worth knowing有兩件事值得知道。 First, the word is almost only used about women第一,這個字幾乎只用在女性身上; if a man takes his shirt off, English says 'bare-chested', 'shirtless' or 'with no shirt on', not 'topless'如果是男性把上衣脫掉,英文會說「bare-chested赤裸上身」、「shirtless沒穿上衣」,或「with no shirt on沒穿襯衫」,而不是「topless」。 That asymmetry is in the language, not in the bodies這種不對稱是語言裡的問題,不是身體本身的問題。

Second, topless has an entirely separate and safe use for objects that simply have no top or lid: 'a topless jar', 'a topless car' (though for cars people usually say 'convertible' or 'open-top').

Second, topless has an entirely separate and safe use for objects that simply have no top or lid第二,topless還有一個完全不同、很安全的用法,用在單純沒有蓋子或頂部的物品上: 'a topless jar', 'a topless car'「a topless jar沒有蓋子的罐子」、「a topless car沒有車頂的車」 (though for cars people usually say 'convertible' or 'open-top'不過講車子的時候大家通常會說「convertible敞篷車」或「open-top開頂」)。

If a Taiwanese student meets the word, it will almost always be in news about European beaches or in film ratings.

If a Taiwanese student meets the word如果台灣學生遇到這個字, it will almost always be in news about European beaches or in film ratings幾乎都會是在講歐洲海灘的新聞裡,或是在電影分級裡。