tabletop

1 of 2

noun

ta·​ble·​top ˈtā-bəl-ˌtäp 

variants or less commonly table top or table-top

plural tabletops also table tops or table-tops

1

: the top or surface of a table

a wooden tabletop

… slaps his palm on the table-top … to emphasize a point …

—Seamus Heffernan

2

: a photograph of small objects or a miniature scene arranged on a table

Photographing scenes or objects or people as or where we find them is great fun, but if you have never tried tabletops you have missed one real creative branch of photography.

—Robert A. Bohlen

Both have won several awards for their [photographic] work, exhibited locally and internationally. He specializes in portraits, she prefers "table tops" or still-life arrangements.

—Charlie Fidelman

also : photography involving such photographs

Everyone's goal seemed to be soft, shadowless lighting. I didn't like it, although for a time—like everyone in tabletop—I subscribed to it.

—Bruce Wolf, quoted in Photo District News

tabletop

2 of 2

adjective

variants or less commonly table-top or table top

1

: designed or suitable for use or display on a tabletop or similar surface

This symmetrical conifer is a standard tabletop Christmas tree.

—Jim McCausland

… offers full-sized propane heaters and smaller table-top models …

—Brent Hallenbeck

Tabletop games, which can be played at bars, game shops and cafes … incorporate many types of play …

—Sam Sanders

2

: of, relating to, or involving games (such as board games or card games) that are designed to be played at or on a table

Three years ago, a team of tabletop industry experts gathered to create the American alternative to … Germany's prestigious board game awards.

—Charlie Hall

… a giant board game release party, where publishers unleash their newest games to the most committed and enthusiastic tabletop gamers.

—Aaron Zimmerman

There are several benefits to tabletop gaming: it provides positive social interaction, … it's democratic and (for the most part) appropriate for all ages, and there is a game for practically every type of concept or genre.

—M. Brandon Robbins

3

photography : of or relating to tabletops (see tabletop entry 1 sense 2)

Glassware photography is a subset of table top photography but it is the trickiest of the lot.

—Smart Photography

: being a tabletop

Your first step in making a tabletop photo is to choose a toy that is realistic in appearance and suitable in size. Then plan your story idea carefully before building your setup.

—Lloyd Van Horsen

Examples of tabletop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Threshold Stoneware Bunny Pedestal Candy Bowl Buy on Target $10 A candy bowl is essential for an exciting tabletop, but this darling bunny pedestal detail adds a playful and enchanting twist. —Wendy Vazquez, Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2024

Walking into a bar set designed to house one of the movie’s climactic showdown, Patel noticed there were no glass tabletops. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2024

Equipped with three side hooks, a small drawer, a cabinet, a bottom shelf, and a metal tabletop, this can effortlessly become your go-to workstation. —Wendy Vazquez, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Apr. 2024

Michael Tavano, creative director of Marks & Tavano, a New York workroom that designs custom upholstery, window treatments, bedding and tabletops, has been designing fancy dog beds for about 15 years. —Elaine Markoutsas, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2024

On a tabletop, Olthuis unrolled an enormous sheet of glossy printer paper. —Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Threshold Stoneware Bunny Pedestal Candy Bowl A candy bowl is essential for an exciting tabletop, but this darling bunny pedestal detail adds a playful and enchanting twist. —Wendy Vazquez, Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2024

Singh, the defense lawyer, also reserved blame for the county’s child welfare agency for not better informing Castro that drug residue on a tabletop, couch or his hands could harm the baby. —Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 29 Feb. 2024

The tabletop lifts to reveal a sizable storage drawer that will fit building blocks, Play-Doh, Kinetic Sand, or art supplies. —Samantha McIntyre, Parents, 9 Mar. 2024

Adjective

The Han Kuang exercises are set to begin in April with eight days of tabletop drills followed by combat exercises in July, Reuters is reporting, citing the defense ministry. —Greg Norman, Fox News, 9 Apr. 2024

Initiatives include a mobile robot and a sophisticated tabletop device with a display repositioning arm aimed at redefining smart home technology. —Detroit Free Press, 6 Apr. 2024

Before the music even starts, people stand on top of machines — one person is in a tabletop sink — to secure the best view. —Lina Abascal, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024

Vegetarian options: Guacamole, seasonal s’mores roasted on tabletop grills or (possibly) the soup of the day. —Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee, 1 Apr. 2024

That effort is particularly tricky in South Korea, where meat is associated with wealth and health, and where tabletop barbecuing is a way of life. —Min Joo Kim, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024

Sprawling, towering, flamboyant installations of faux flowers and leaves are fast becoming a new hallmark of restaurant design, the florid successor to past fixations like open kitchens, Mason jars and those cordless tabletop lamps. —Priya Krishna, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024

Hero Hockey Fast Action Hockey Game With Magnets This head-to-head tabletop hockey game is controlled by magnets underneath the board. —Maya Polton, Parents, 24 Mar. 2024

Choose the tabletop option to mark your place in this week’s reading material or go grand with a floor-size version. —Marni Elyse Katz, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1738, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1897, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing tabletop

• tabletop gamers
• tabletop gaming

Kids Definition

tabletop

noun

ta·​ble·​top ˈtā-bəl-ˌtäp 

: the top of a table