topple
/ˈtɒp(ə)l
/verb
1Overbalance or cause to overbalance and fall: [no object, with adverbial of direction]: she toppled over when I touched her [with object]: the push almost toppled him to the ground...
- While doing so he overbalanced, toppling 22 feet to the ground below.
- I managed to sit down a little heavily into a canvas director's chair, causing me to overbalance and topple over backward.
- It is broken and caused my wheelchair to topple over backwards.
Synonyms
fall, tumble, overturn, overbalance, tip, keel, drop, pitch, plunge, capsize, collapse, founder, plummet, dive, lose one's balance, go head over heels
knock over, knock down, upset, push over, tip over, upend, capsize;
fell, tear down, flatten, level
1.1 [with object] Remove (a government or person in authority) from power; overthrow: disagreement had threatened to topple the government...
- This gave the military a veto over the cabinet, and the power to topple governments.
- Does it then follow that we ought to endeavor to topple authoritarian governments, in order to secure peace?
- It has shown mass action from below can topple governments and inflict a defeat on big business policies.
Synonyms
overthrow, oust, depose, unseat, overturn, bring down, overcome, bring low, defeat, get rid of, dislodge, eject, supplant, dethrone
informal defenestrate
Origin
Mid 16th century (in the sense 'tumble about'): frequentative of top1.
Rhymes
- perqueir
- perquisite
- perquisition
- perquisitor
- per quod
- perradial
- perradius
- perramble
- Perrault, Charles
- per recte et retro
- per rectum
- perrhenate
- perrhenic acid
- Perrier
- perrierite
- Perrier Jouet
- Perrier water
- Perrier–Jouët
- Perrin, Jean Baptiste
- perron
- per-rotatory
- perrotine
- Irishized
- Irish jig
- Irish joke