as in to exceed
to be greater, better, or stronger than
a manager whose arrogance was overtopped only by his ineptitude
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overtop
The most common reason levees fail is overtopping, when water from a river, stream or lake behind the levee flows over the top.
—
Farshid Vahedifard, The Conversation, 29 Dec. 2025
The existing levee was just an inch or two away from being overtopped by floodwaters earlier this month, according to Orting’s mayor, Joshua Penner.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 21 Dec. 2025
Both rivers have overtopped their banks, affecting residential areas, farmland, and roadways, though gradual declines are expected through Friday and into the weekend.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Because the flooding has been a growing concern for Juneau over the past several years, city officials with federal assistance installed emergency flood barriers along several miles of riverbanks in the areas deemed most at risk for being overtopped.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overtop
Farshid Vahedifard, The Conversation, 29 Dec. 2025
The existing levee was just an inch or two away from being overtopped by floodwaters earlier this month, according to Orting’s mayor, Joshua Penner.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 21 Dec. 2025
Both rivers have overtopped their banks, affecting residential areas, farmland, and roadways, though gradual declines are expected through Friday and into the weekend.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Because the flooding has been a growing concern for Juneau over the past several years, city officials with federal assistance installed emergency flood barriers along several miles of riverbanks in the areas deemed most at risk for being overtopped.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overtop
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtop
Verb
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On a night where Clay Holmes was dominant, tossing seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts, Roupp exceeded his minuscule margin of error.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
5 Apr. 2026
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In Fort Collins, there was a record-high temperature that exceeded the record-high April temperature as well.—
Alan Gionet,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Schroder was whistled for a technical seven seconds later then Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson — a former Warriors top assistant — received a technical.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
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In 2025, sales topped $210 million for both adult-use marijuana and hemp-derived THC products, which have been around much longer.—
Caroline Cummings,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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He's commuted for nearly four years, but recently the spikes of gas have increased, surpassing his monthly budget.—
Kara St. Cyr,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
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The project was such a big hit that the Russos and Hargrave had to bring its main character back from the dead (Hemsworth’s Rake seemed to have died at the end of the first film) for the second installment, which surpassed the streaming numbers of the first pic.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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They were eclipsed by Republicans Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, both of whom polled at 14%.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
8 Apr. 2026
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Denuded of vegetation, dry soil can go airborne in pillars of swirling dirt or sun-eclipsing dust storms that coat roads and buildings in sandy grit.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Across La Liga, that is only bettered by six other players (among those to have played a minimum of 1,000 minutes).—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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Yeboah bettered that in the 67th minute, taking advantage of another defensive breakdown to poke a pass from Tomás Chancalay at the left post past Marcinkowski.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overtop.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtop. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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