topple

[ top-uhl ]
See synonyms for topple on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object),top·pled, top·pling.
  1. to fall forward, as from having too heavy a top; pitch; tumble down.

  2. to lean over or jut, as if threatening to fall.

verb (used with object),top·pled, top·pling.
  1. to cause to topple.

  2. to overthrow, as from a position of authority: to topple the king.

Origin of topple

1
1535–45; earlier top to tilt, topple (see tope1) + -le

Other words for topple

Other words from topple

  • un·top·pled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use topple in a sentence

  • The station building gave sickening creaks; then it toppled with a crash.

    A Lost Hero | Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Herbert D. Ward
  • It caught him full in the middle; he doubled like a staple and with a cry of pain toppled into the snow.

  • The rope almost broke and the barge swayed in the water, almost toppled, and then drifted to its previous position.

    Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji
  • The great mace of Sebastian had dashed the sword aside, and De Carnac smote the man-at-arms so that he toppled with a dull cry.

    God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
  • Then a whole row of books on a loosely packed shelf toppled over on each other with soft jocose slaps.

    Molly Make-Believe | Eleanor Hallowell Abbott

British Dictionary definitions for topple

topple

/ (ˈtɒpəl) /


verb
  1. to tip over or cause to tip over, esp from a height

  2. (intr) to lean precariously or totter

  1. (tr) to overthrow; oust

Origin of topple

1
C16: frequentative of top 1 (verb)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012