English

Proper noun

Rooftop

1. Synonym of Roof, a Chinese constellation.

English

Adjective

rooftop ‎(not comparable)

1. Atop a roof; on a roof

   In recent years, we've seen Bangkok become the unofficial rooftop bar capital of the world.

   —Thailand's Islands and Beaches, Lonely Planet

Noun

rooftop ‎(plural rooftops)

A panoramic view from the Château d'Annecy of the rooftops of buildings in Annecy, France

1. (somewhat formal) The area atop a roof

   Why do you think the rooftop of their apartment building is called "tar beach"? (Answers may vary.)

   —Multicultural Books for Primary Grades, Liz Rothlein

2. the top layer of a roof, the material covering or composing a roof

   The house itself was a mound of red baked bricks and a tin rooftop.

   —The Chocolate Shop Perverts, Ernest Alanki

Usage notes

As it refers specifically to the area atop the roof or to the top area of the roof, "rooftop" is not always synonymous with the entire "roof". For instance, "the rooftop blew off the house" would (probably unintentionally) imply some lower level of the roof remained. Compare similar location words such as desktop.

Synonyms

• roof

Related terms

• desktop
• hilltop
• housetop
• mountaintop
• tabletop
• treetop

Translations

Derived terms

• shout from the rooftops
• rooftop of the world, an epithet of Tibet