diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-top.c b/tools/perf/builtin-top.c
index 31ea7a68baa4..70f1075cc5b0 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-top.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-top.c
@@ -676,7 +676,7 @@ static int symbol_filter(struct map *map, struct symbol *sym)
 
 	for (i = 0; skip_symbols[i]; i++) {
 		if (!strcmp(skip_symbols[i], name)) {
-			syme->skip = 1;
+			sym->ignore = true;
 			break;
 		}
 	}
@@ -779,7 +779,7 @@ static void perf_event__process_sample(const union perf_event *event,
 	}
 
 	syme = symbol__priv(al.sym);
-	if (!syme->skip) {
+	if (!al.sym->ignore) {
 		struct perf_evsel *evsel;
 
 		evsel = perf_evlist__id2evsel(top.evlist, sample->id);
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/symbol.h b/tools/perf/util/symbol.h
index db39c0c63608..713b0b40cc4a 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/symbol.h
+++ b/tools/perf/util/symbol.h
@@ -48,12 +48,17 @@ char *strxfrchar(char *s, char from, char to);
 
 #define BUILD_ID_SIZE 20
 
+/** struct symbol - symtab entry
+ *
+ * @ignore - resolvable but tools ignore it (e.g. idle routines)
+ */
 struct symbol {
 	struct rb_node	rb_node;
 	u64		start;
 	u64		end;
 	u16		namelen;
 	u8		binding;
+	bool		ignore;
 	char		name[0];
 };
 
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/top.h b/tools/perf/util/top.h
index ba111b25e16a..bfbf95bcc603 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/top.h
+++ b/tools/perf/util/top.h
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ struct sym_entry {
 	struct list_head	node;
 	unsigned long		snap_count;
 	double			weight;
-	int			skip;
 	struct map		*map;
 	unsigned long		count[0];
 };