overthrow
Americanverb (used with object)
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overthrows,
present (3rd person singular)
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overthrew,
past
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overthrown,
past participle
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overthrowing
present participle
-
to depose, as from a position of power; overcome, defeat, or vanquish.
to overthrow a tyrant.
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to put an end to by force, as a government or institution.
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to throw or knock down; overturn; topple.
The heavy winds overthrew numerous telephone poles and trees.
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to knock down and demolish.
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to throw (something) too far.
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Baseball. (of a pitcher) to throw too hard, often affecting control or straining the arm.
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Archaic. to destroy the sound condition of (the mind).
verb (used without object)
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overthrows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overthrew,
past
-
overthrown,
past participle
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overthrowing
present participle
noun
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overthrows
plural
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the act of overthrowing; state or condition of being overthrown.
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deposition from power.
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defeat; destruction; ruin.
- Synonyms:
- fall
verb
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(tr) to effect the downfall or destruction of (a ruler, institution, etc), esp by force
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(tr) to throw or turn over
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(tr) to throw (something, esp a ball) too far
noun
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an act of overthrowing
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downfall; destruction
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cricket
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a ball thrown back too far by a fielder
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a run scored because of this
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overthrowsimple
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overthrowssimple
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have overthrownperfect
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has overthrownperfect
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am overthrowingprogressive
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are overthrowingprogressive
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is overthrowingprogressive
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have been overthrowingperfect progressive
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has been overthrowingperfect progressive
Past
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overthrewsimple
-
had overthrownperfect
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was overthrowingprogressive
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were overthrowingprogressive
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had been overthrowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overthrow
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at over-, throw
Explanation
When you overthrow a ruler or a regime, you throw them out, usually by force. If you're a rebel you may plan to overthrow the current government and install a new regime. You can also use overthrow as a noun. You might plot to overthrow the parking ticket authority so that you won't have to pay your tickets. There are also more literal uses of the word. In baseball, football, and other games that involve throwing a ball, you overthrow when you throw the ball past the person you're aiming for. You can say "the pitcher overthrew the ball to the first baseman," or "the pitcher overthrew the first baseman."
Vocabulary lists containing overthrow
100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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"Death, be not proud" by John Donne
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Catching Fire
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In his 2012 autobiography "An American Son," the man oft-memed as the "viceroy" of Cuba, recounts boasting to his exiled Cuban grandfather that he would one day overthrow Fidel Castro and free Cuba.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Then there’s the fact that Nicaraguan migrants in the United States are a smaller and less powerful force than Cuban Americans, many of whom have lobbied Washington for decades to isolate and overthrow Havana’s leaders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
“It will not probably take a war to overthrow the principle of the legal-tender act,” wrote Sumner, alluding to the Civil War, “but it may take a national bankruptcy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
It does not overthrow Einstein’s relativity or quantum physics — it completes them.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026
But he turned around and said they were plotting to overthrow him.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have now uncovered a key reason behind these coordinated overthrows and how they unfold so precisely.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2025
Love was flustered two months ago by the Vikings defense, but despite his penchant for overthrows he has come a long way.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 1, 2024
The study, published on Thursday in Science, overthrows decades of thinking about when humans arrived in North America.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 5, 2023
Back then, an outrageous slice of luck saw Martin Guptill's throw from the deep ricochet of Stokes' bat for four overthrows.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2023
But until the outbreak of the international revolution, revolutions in individual countries may still meet with a number of serious setbacks and overthrows.
From A Letter to American Workingmen by N. Lenin
Apple finally overthrew Nvidia to reclaim the title of the world’s largest company by market capitalization, underscoring the dramatic degree to which the iPhone maker’s stock is clobbering the broader technology universe.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Tom Stewart overthrew a line-out five metres from the Ulster line and Montpellier moved the ball quickly for Taofifenua to cross out wide, and Miotti again converted.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
“He had the ability if he was developed and stayed healthy. I think he probably overthrew and tore his rotator cuff and nobody knew it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
The People’s Mojahedin Organization, a well-organized leftist-Islamist group, waged an armed struggle against the shah and participated in the 1979 revolution that overthrew him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
After the French Revolution, which overthrew the monarchy, it completed its final transformation into a museum, a monument for the new French Republic.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
On 7 December, mutinying soldiers claimed to have overthrown the Benin president.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
“I’m happy because the Ayatollah was overthrown, and for the freedom,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026
An effective orator, Khamenei joined the critics of the Shah of Iran: the monarch who was eventually overthrown by the Islamic revolution.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
Many waved flags with a lion and a sun against horizontal green, white and red stripes, the emblem of the monarchy overthrown in 1979.
From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026
While they conversed, the Wayfinder came near, leading the shades of suitors overthrown by Lord Odysseus.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
I watched a movie called “The International,” which focused on an Interpol investigation of a bank that primarily served groups intent on overthrowing existing governments.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
“Just not overthrowing the ball, not throwing as hard as I can but hitting the spots and having a feel for my off-speed pitches,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
Doumbouya, who came to power in 2021 after overthrowing Condé, has been accused of cracking down on democratic freedoms.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
“I thought he was overthrowing, I hadn’t seen that all spring,” Roberts said after the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
We could embarrass them, but overthrowing them as a result of the Defiance Campaign was impossible.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
