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
-
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
-
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
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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:
Human rights group Amnesty International says prosecutors falsely alleged that the Gezi park protests were an attempt to overthrow the government.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
It opens at Harrenhal on the eve of an infamous tournament that set in motion events leading to the overthrow of King Aerys II Targaryen, the titular mad king.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
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
The mufti conspired with Iraqi soldiers to overthrow the pro-British Prince Regent Abd al-Ilah of Hejaz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
As I mentioned in Chapter 3, they enabled Cortes and Pizarro, leading only small bands of adventurers, to overthrow the Aztec and Inca Empires.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Law 19.8 now clearly defines overthrows as intentional throws at the stumps, distinguishing them from ordinary misfields, which are not counted as overthrows.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
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
But now comes man and overthrows this state of nature, abolishes the competitive struggle, and changes at his own insolent will both his environment and his reaction thereto.
From The Book of Life by Upton Sinclair
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
“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 1976 coup overthrew president Isabel Peron, who had replaced her husband Juan Peron after he died in office.
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
The US and Cuba have had strained relations since communist leader Fidel Castro overthrew a US-backed government in 1959.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
The Redeemers who overthrew Reconstruction were inclined to retain such segregation practices as had already emerged, but they displayed no apparent disposition to expand or universalize the system.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
In November 1688 the absolutist and pro-Catholic king of England was overthrown.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Assad was sentenced in absentia, as he has been living in Moscow after fleeing Damascus in 2024 when his regime was overthrown.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Wales took advantage on 20 minutes, with a Gwen Crabb turnover gifting them a promising attacking platform, and while line-out ball was slightly overthrown, Tuipulotu took a clean catch and bulldozed her way through.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
“I’m happy because the Ayatollah was overthrown, and for the freedom,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 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
Ruhollah Khomeini, the ayatollah who founded the Islamic Republic after the revolution overthrowing the shah in 1979, regarded passing power to a child as un-Islamic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
"And lastly, O my resourceful son," said the Tisroc, "you have made clear how all this might give you the barbarian woman, but not how it helps me to the overthrowing of Narnia."
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
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.
