topple
Americanverb (used without object)
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topples,
present (3rd person singular)
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toppled,
past participle, past
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toppling
present participle
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to fall forward, as from having too heavy a top; pitch; tumble down.
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to lean over or jut, as if threatening to fall.
verb
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to tip over or cause to tip over, esp from a height
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(intr) to lean precariously or totter
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(tr) to overthrow; oust
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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topplesimple
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topplessimple
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have toppledperfect
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has toppledperfect
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am topplingprogressive
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are topplingprogressive
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is topplingprogressive
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have been topplingperfect progressive
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has been topplingperfect progressive
Past
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toppledsimple
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had toppledperfect
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was topplingprogressive
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were topplingprogressive
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had been topplingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of topple
Explanation
To topple something is to knock it down. A house of cards can be toppled — so can a government. Things can topple in several ways. If a building collapses or falls down for any reason, it topples. If you knocked over another student, you toppled that person. Governments that are overthrown are also said to be toppled. When you see the word topple, someone or something is going down.
Vocabulary lists containing topple
100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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"Sorry, Wrong Number," Vocabulary from the play
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The War That Saved My Life
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Six others tried and failed to topple her.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
James is every ambitious director threatening to topple this town in a narcissistic quest to create the ultimate special effects epic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Investors have bet new drugs can topple Merck’s Keytruda, but the evidence so far points to something smaller.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Her party has exercised major influence in a fragmented Congress that has helped topple several presidents.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
What if we get lucky and actually topple this thing?
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
A Silicon Valley enclave topples Miami island as the most expensive U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Ninety-five percent of the building, the structure is sound and intact…There is no way that this corner of a small extension all of a sudden topples this building.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
"It is not like a pencil balancing on its end that when touched topples over."
From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2024
You look so shocked when a dog topples your precious kid over!
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 18, 2023
If they make a mistake and the obelisk topples over, it will break and the pharaoh’s son will die.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
The fate of Iran’s Jewish community—like that of its many other minority groups—has varied since the 1979 revolution that toppled the Shah and brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
One of the memorable episodes was Kitten Kong, in which a giant feline toppled the Post Office Tower.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Youth-led protests in Bangladesh in 2024 toppled the government of Sheikh Hasina and led to her ouster.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Nolan has anchored his “Odyssey” at the fall of the Bronze Age, a once-great era toppled by wealth-hoarding, diminished trade and climate catastrophes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Several cages had been toppled, their barred metal doors swinging in the morning breeze.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
As the models from Anthropic and OpenAI keep toppling brutal problems, they have done something no less improbable: They have turned me into a math person.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
She is already the highest-rated woman in England, and the sight of her toppling much older and more experienced men and women has become the norm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
And this show is really about seeing the rebellion of young teenage girls and how they are sort of key to the inside resistance of toppling this regime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Nobody has put their name forward yet, but if the leaders of Uefa, Concacaf, and AFC are serious about toppling Infantino, uniting behind a single candidate is likely their best option.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Jesper was tempted to pretend to faint, but he settled for the effect of men toppling to the ground all around him.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
