tabletop

American  

[tey-buhl-top] / ˈteɪ bəlˌtɒp /

noun

1. a surface forming or suggesting the top of a table.

2. a photograph of an arrangement of objects on top of a table.

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adjective

1. intended for use on the top of a table or the like.

2. noting or relating to an arrangement of objects, especially miniatures or models, as would be appropriate to the top of a table.

3. noting or relating to a type of game that requires the physical presence of players and the manipulation of game pieces, in contrast to video games.

Etymology

Origin of tabletop

First recorded in 1800–10; table + top ¹

Example Sentences

To investigate this possibility, the researchers designed a tabletop experiment with a two-dimensional array of freely rotating magnetic elements positioned above a second magnetic layer.

From Science Daily • Mar. 22, 2026

Featuring a decorative eagle perched on top, the bell stands on two legs and can fit on a tabletop.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025

Exquisite, also, is a grouping of several soft-paste-biscuit tabletop figurines—classical and idyllic scenes depicting lovers, children, goddesses and bathers, all designed by Boucher.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 1, 2025

She puts one of them, from 1929, on the tabletop in her kitchen.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

Bast opened his mouth, then closed it and looked down at the tabletop, frowning.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss