How to Use atop in a Sentence

atop

1 of 2 adverb or adjective
  • Take in the pastel skies and sparkling blue waters right atop of the water.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 19 Dec. 2025
  • Light fluffy eggs, a spicy sausage patty and plenty of ooey-gooey cheese melted atop.
    — cleveland, 5 Dec. 2022
  • The lake had about a foot of snow and slush atop at least 12 inches of solid ice.
    — Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5 May 2022
  • Numerous people came out to park their cars to take pictures of the bunting being placed atop.
    — Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 2026
  • As Hazel mines, a few people sit behind the drill shaft atop of a cocoon of wires and metal.
    — Ricky Carioti, Washington Post, 7 July 2023
  • Serve by ladling sauce onto the plate, placing fillet atop; garnish with tarragon leaves.
    — Nicole Sours Larson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Oct. 2020
  • Rappaport said the Keys can expect five- to 10-foot surges with waves atop.
    — By Jenny Staletovich, Charles Rabin and Glenn Garvin, miamiherald, 9 Sep. 2017
  • Brittany – who was pregnant with their second baby at the time – dressed with a cutout of the moon placed atop on her baby bump.
    — Sophie Dodd, Peoplemag, 1 June 2023
  • First, paint one side of the fish with sumi ink, place washi paper atop, then use your fingers to press over the surface to make a print.
    — Kaila Yu, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2023
  • Chapman's pygmy chameleons walk atop and blend in with dead leaves on the forest floor, crawling up into low bushes at night to sleep.
    — Kristen Rogers, CNN, 2 Aug. 2021
  • The house of cards that Desna sits atop is going to crumble, but who will come out victorious as the top boss?
    — Nina Metz, chicagotribune.com, 9 July 2018
  • It is made with everything from chicken to goat to wild boar to fish, slow-cooked over branches of green pimento wood laid atop hot coals.
    — Ann Maloney, NOLA.com, 16 Jan. 2018
  • But sometimes, when changes pile and pile atop of one another, that feeling of discomfort can quickly creep back up.
    — Ainslie Lee | [email protected], al, 30 Aug. 2023
  • The locomotive itself was a detailed miniature a full-size human could ride atop.
    — Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2024
  • These early masses of solid rock may have floated buoyantly atop magma welling up from below, a new study finds.
    — ABC News, 14 Nov. 2021
  • Ground lease tenants who own the buildings that sit atop of these ticking time bombs lose billions every year by giving the keys back to landlords.
    — Jim Small, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2023
  • Crews redid the base layer that the bricks sit atop and cleaned each brick by hand, determining which few were too damaged to be reinserted.
    — Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Feb. 2023
  • Picnic tables are covered with sheaths of brown paper, ripped down the center to accommodate umbrellas and ready for a pile of crabs to be dumped atop.
    — Kendyl Kearly, Baltimore Sun, 17 July 2023
  • Even the visual aspect of the show was scaled way back, kept to four small banks of stage lights set behind the players and a small silvery platform that all the musicians stood atop.
    — Robert Ham, Billboard, 4 Apr. 2018
  • Instead of bearing fishing poles, most have Soviet-era heavy machine guns bolted to their bows with a small rocket launcher atop.
    — Jon Gambrell, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Some shakeup will more than likely come atop, but keep an eye on those Greater Miami Conference matches.
    — Alex Harrison, The Enquirer, 6 Sep. 2023
  • Collins' Instagram carousel begins with an adorable photo of the birthday girl smiling big in a beanie with one of the Moomin characters atop.
    — Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 18 Mar. 2023
  • Our bracket features the teams with the best chance to make the Playoff and to win it all, and Ohio State remains atop in both categories.
    — Austin Mock, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Unseen is the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket the crew capsule is mounted atop.
    — William Harwood, CBS News, 21 Dec. 2025
  • As can be seen in the title image, the main 4K camera resides atop and slightly ahead of the cockpit, semi-flush with the surface to reduce drag.
    — Eric Tegler, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2021
  • Inside — a large mattress bed and comforter, drawers, shelves and the twinkling LED lights of a tabletop tree lamp atop, an analog clock hung above.
    — Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 4 July 2023
  • At Lincoln Center, 60 pounds of ersatz snow gently wafted atop still more snowflakes — well, dancers dressed like snowflakes — waltzing onstage.
    — Sarah Maslin Nir Kirsten Luce, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2023
  • There haven’t been any serious city discussions about what could go atop or around the highway, said City Council member Chad West.
    — Dallas News, 19 Oct. 2022
  • At one point, Roan wore a headpiece of, well, her own head, complete with her signature long, flowing red curls, and carried a wand with yet another mini version of her head placed atop.
    — Kara Nesvig, Allure, 25 Aug. 2025
  • Burna refers to his music as Afro-fusion, with a base of Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat and layers of other diasporic sounds atop.
    — Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 12 Jan. 2022

atop

2 of 2 preposition
  • The house sits atop a cliff overlooking the ocean.
  • The pitch atop a cliff was perfect.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Outside, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Tied with him atop the leaderboard?
    — Levi Weaver, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • The days crawl by and pile atop of each other.
    — Eli Sharabi, Time, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Add the compote and then the sauce atop the ice cream.
    — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Hanover itself was ranked atop the Div.
    — Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
  • Did someone break up with you atop a mountain?
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
  • The Avs are atop the league with a 5-0-3 record.
    — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The shoes balance atop a curved, dagger heel.
    — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Tiny red hearts sit atop a baby pink base to create this sweet look.
    — Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 31 Jan. 2026
  • On top of that, there would be a fight atop the moving steam engine.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 14 Jan. 2024
  • The six- to eight-inch blooms stand atop stems reaching six to seven feet tall.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Skulls lie atop the concession stand.
    — Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Lee will be atop the lineup every day, and his glove will play the whole game, too.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
  • Mecca was seated atop a desk, paws on a yellow pad.
    — Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
  • But in his old stadium, Rodgers was atop that list.
    — Mike Defabo, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • And, of course, atop that list is van Gisbergen.
    — Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026
  • Pick a statement nail and add a chic border of pearls atop a neutral base.
    — Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 14 June 2026
  • The world opened up from beneath a homemade quilt and atop a shag carpet.
    — Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
  • That was the last time the Guardians stood atop their division.
    — Zack Meisel, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Not so long ago, another ice storm had trapped us atop our slippery hill.
    — Erin Austen Abbott, The Atlantic, 1 Feb. 2026
  • The Skookum's extra height owes to the pop-up roof sitting atop it.
    — New Atlas, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Before his big moment, Culkin placed a kiss atop his youngest's head.
    — Kate Hogan, Peoplemag, 1 Dec. 2023
  • Which leaves only one path for those currently atop the sport to stay there.
    — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 2 Mar. 2026
  • The shot was pure, skimming atop the grass to nestle inside the far post.
    — Josh Gross, Daily News, 15 Mar. 2026
  • This look features a shimmery electric blue half moon atop an opaque nude base.
    — Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 20 Jan. 2026
  • Smoliga, now 30, had sat atop the swimming world for years.
    — Rustin Dodd, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
  • All in a place where people are living atop vast deposits of coal, oil and gas.
    — Margie Mason, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026
  • Sometimes, comfort is best served atop something hot and cheesy.
    — Robert Klose, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 June 2023
  • That sits high atop the reasons Lee tabbed Skeeter as his right-hand man.
    — Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 11 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'atop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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