Rooftop
nounThe upper outer surface of a building, especially when used as a space or vantage point.
How to spell rooftop
7 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce rooftop
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does rooftop mean?
- nounThe upper outer surface of a building, especially when used as a space or vantage point.
Rooftop in a sentence
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The hotel opened a rooftop bar with views of the harbour.
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Solar panels covered the entire rooftop of the warehouse.
Where does rooftop come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
This is a transparent English compound, formed by joining 'roof' and 'top', both of which are ancient native words. 'Roof' descends from the Old English 'hrof', meaning the top covering of a building, which is related to Old Norse and Dutch forms for the same thing. 'Top' comes from the Old English 'topp', meaning the highest point or tuft, and it has Germanic cousins across the North Sea languages. The compound 'rooftop' is comparatively young, emerging in everyday English only in the nineteenth century as cities grew tall and people began describing the level surface of a building's roof. Because both halves are short, familiar everyday words, the spelling holds no real trap beyond remembering to write it as one solid word.
How the word is built
- roof (the covering of a building)
- top (the highest part)
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