Top-ranking (8)
I believe the answer is:
superior
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'top' is the first definition.
(thesaurus)
'ranking' is the second definition.
(I know that ranking can be written as superior)
(Other definitions for superior that I've seen before include "Mother is sometimes" , "Better than, in a higher class" , "Higher ranking" , "head of monastery" , "Haughty" .)