topple

verb

top·​ple ˈtä-pəl 

toppled; toppling ˈtä-p(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

: to fall from or as if from being top-heavy

transitive verb

1

: to cause to topple

2

a

: overthrow sense 2

topple a dictator

b

: defeat sense 1

Synonyms of topple

• fall
• stumble
• trip
• slip
• tumble

Examples of topple in a Sentence

The strong winds toppled many trees.

The earthquake toppled the buildings.

The tree toppled into the river.

The rebels tried to topple the dictator.

The phone company has toppled its local competition.

Recent Examples on the Web

These demonstrations snowballed into mass protests that encouraged the country’s military to abandon Hasina and toppled her government, forcing her to flee. —Muhib Rahman, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2025

But just moments into its first performance, AIdol suddenly malfunctioned and toppled forward. —Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2025

Al-Sharaa led the rebel forces that toppled former Syrian President Bashar Assad last December and was named the country's interim leader in January. —NPR, 11 Nov. 2025

But the new government, led by former rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assad, is urging US lawmakers to repeal the most punishing sanctions isolating Syria from the world economy. —Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 11 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

frequentative of top entry 3

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for topple

• estoppel
• popple

Kids Definition

topple

verb

top·​ple ˈtäp-əl 

toppled; toppling -(ə-)liŋ 

1

: to fall over from being too heavy at the top

2

: to push over