Atop

Full definition of atop

Preposition

1. On the top of.He sat atop the mountain, waiting for the end of the world.
• 1966, The Minnesota Review, vol. 6, page 242A virtue is made out of a necessity, with the child feeling far more atop and master of his oddness, his behavior now deliberate or even clever.
• 2006, Dewey Lambdin, The Gun Ketch, page 48"And other things," she echoed, nodding slowly and resting her body a little more atop him again.
2. On the top, with "of".

Usage notes

"Atop of" was formerly much more commonly used than now.

Derived terms

• thereatop

Synonyms

• on top
• ontop mainly US

Adverb

1. (literary or archaic) On, to, or at the top.
• 1909, William Dean Howells, Seven English Cities, Kessinger Publishing 2004, p. 46:He has a handsome face, still bearded in the midst of a mostly clean-shaving nation, and with the white hairs prevalent on the cheeks and temples; his head is bald atop, though hardly from the uneasiness of wearing a crown.
• 1978, James C. Humes, Speaker's Treasury of Anecdotes About the Famous, Harper & Row 1978, p. 102:The envoy found the French king playing the part of horse while his young son rode atop.