atop
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\ ə-ˈtäp 
\
\Definition of atop
(Entry 1 of 2)
: on, to, or at the top
atop
prepositionDefinition of atop (Entry 2 of 2)
: on top of
Examples of atop in a Sentence
Preposition
The house sits atop a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb or adjective The sky finally cracked open atop much of the fire grounds in NSW, Australia this week – the welcome deluge slashing the number of burning fires to below 100 for the first time in more than a month.
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Fox News, "Climate change or poor policy? As Australia’s wildfires see some relief, the blame game ascends," 17 Jan. 2020 Brooklyn Bridge Park, which opened in 2010, sits atop four former industrial piers held up by a total of 13,000 timber pilings (a fifth pier is built on landfill).
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New York Times, "The Critters Doing $114 Million in Damage to Brooklyn’s Piers," 13 Sep. 2019 Lightning requires atmospheric instability, something that’s set up when cold, parched air sits atop warmer, wetter air.
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Robin George Andrews, National Geographic, "Lightning struck near the North Pole 48 times. It's not normal.," 13 Aug. 2019 Altius is farming in the heart of Denver at 2500 Lawrence St. Its 7,000-square-foot greenhouse sits atop (and helps supply) chic sushi restaurant Uchi and is the visual centerpiece of sustainability-focused condo project S*Park.
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Joe Rubino, The Denver Post, "Denver urban farming trend grows from a Sloan’s Lake condo tower to a Larimer Square parking garage," 4 Aug. 2019 Michelle Obama took that honor at last weekend's Essence Fest, as makeup artist Carl Ray layered her lips with Red atop Make Up For Ever’s Artist Nude Creme Liquid Lipstick.
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Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, "Glossier Just Dropped Two New Shades of Its Fan-Favorite Lip Gloss," 9 July 2019 But instead of wheels, the bike sits atop two pontoons, making it a sort of catamaran.
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Alix Martichoux, Sunset, "We Tried the Water Bike Company That Wants to Disrupt Your Bay Area Commute," 22 Jan. 2018 Until November 21st, use the offer code VERGE25 at checkout to take 25 percent off of your purchase, which stacks atop of 1More’s current promotion for even more savings.
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Cameron Faulkner, The Verge, "Save 25 percent on headphones from 1More," 8 Nov. 2018 Country star Jason Aldean is set to bow atop next week’s Billboard 200 chart with his latest album, Rearview Town, according to industry forecasters.
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Keith Caulfield, Billboard, "Jason Aldean's 'Rearview Town' Aiming for No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart," 17 Apr. 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Preposition Crested Butte now stands atop Colorado’s 28 other ski areas and can claim title to the crown of the Ultimate Colorado Ski Area.
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The Know Staff, The Know, "The winner of the ultimate Colorado ski area championship is …," 28 Dec. 2019 The UConn women’s basketball team was back in a familiar spot Monday — atop the Associated Press poll — after previous No. 1 Stanford lost at Texas on Sunday.
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BostonGlobe.com, "Astros sign C Maldonado," 24 Dec. 2019 The Characterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS) mission blasted off from Kourou, French Guiana at 0854 GMT (3:54 a.m. EST) atop a Russian Soyuz rocket.
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Washington Post, "European planet-studying mission launches from South America," 18 Dec. 2019 Those who have voted in the weekly polls again have L.S.U. atop the rankings by a wide margin over Ohio State — at least two-to-one in first-place votes in The Associated Press writers’ poll and the USA Today coaches’ poll.
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New York Times, "For L.S.U., a Lot of Love in Polls, Not So Much in Playoff Rankings," 3 Dec. 2019 Housed inside a 36-inch by 18-inch container within the capsule, Sam had been launched atop a Little Joe rocket.
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Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "That time a monkey flew to the edge of space and then smashed into a destroyer," 1 Dec. 2019 The Republican National Committee shelled out nearly $95,000 for copies of Donald Trump Jr.'s new book, which helped land it atop the New York Times' bestseller list.
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Melissa Quinn, CBS News, "RNC bought $95,000 worth of copies of Donald Trump Jr.'s new book," 22 Nov. 2019 The Starship will launch atop the company’s Super Heavy rocket, where Starship will become the largest upper stage ever built.
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Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Elon Musk Reveals SpaceX's New Starship, the Rocket Bound for Mars," 29 Sep. 2019 In a moment the bird climbed out of the snow hole and was joined by the other two, all marching atop the impossible softness of the white powder toward me.
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Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, "A long-awaited visit from whitetail ptarmigan leads to a moment captured forever," 26 Jan. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'atop.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for atop
atop
prepositionEnglish Language Learners Definition of atop
chiefly US, somewhat old-fashioned + literary : on top of
See the full definition for atop in the English Language Learners Dictionary
atop
preposition\ ə-ˈtäp \
\Kids Definition of atop
: on top of
The castle sits atop a cliff.
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Time Traveler for atop
The first known use of atop was in 1638
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