topple
[top-uh l]
- to fall forward, as from having too heavy a top; pitch; tumble down.
- to lean over or jut, as if threatening to fall.
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- to cause to topple.
- to overthrow, as from a position of authority: to topple the king.
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Origin of topple
Synonyms
See more synonyms for topple on Thesaurus.com4. defeat, vanquish, overcome, overpower.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for topple
Contemporary Examples
Obama has latched on to the failure of the embargo to topple the Castros as justification to shuffle the deck.
I push down on the pedal with my right leg and instead of propelling myself forward, I topple over sideways.
Others, like the Tehrike e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) vowed to topple the Pakistani state itself.
Obama’s Deadly Informants: The Drone Spotters of PakistanUmar Farooq, Syed Fakhar Kakakhel
November 12, 2014
President Obama has weighed the options and concluded America does more harm than good when it sets out to topple regimes.
He could not bring himself to say that he would have opposed the invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein.
Historical Examples
It will topple down; it will come to ruin; it will wreck everything.
The ManxmanHall Caine
It had only to topple forward in order to plunge down the cañon wall.
Out of the DepthsRobert Ames Bennet
He lost his balance, threw up his hands and began to topple.
Dwellers in the HillsMelville Davisson Post
The feather-dustery that had been a monument was about to topple into the weeds.
In a Little TownRupert Hughes
To have got thus far, and then, by his own action, topple himself down!
Five TalesJohn Galsworthy
topple
- to tip over or cause to tip over, esp from a height
- (intr) to lean precariously or totter
- (tr) to overthrow; oust
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Word Origin
C16: frequentative of top 1 (verb)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for topple
v.
1580s, "tumble down," earlier "to tumble or roll about" (1540s), from top (v.) + frequentative suffix -le. Related: Toppled; toppling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper