as in exceeded
to be greater, better, or stronger than
a manager whose arrogance was overtopped only by his ineptitude
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Recent Examples of overtopped
The dam was in the process of being turned over to area residents when the failure occurred, releasing a torrent that also overtopped the downstream Sanford Dam and flooded the city of Midland.
—
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
Workers began clearing debris and mud at first light from a catchment area where material had overtopped concrete barriers along the northbound shoulder.
—
Bay City News Service,
Mercury News,
21 Feb. 2026
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
Seawalls were overtopped in sections along Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk.
—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
6 Oct. 2025
In 1941, a huge wave caused by a snow and ice avalanche that fell into Laguna Palcacocha, a glacial lake in the Peruvian Andes, overtopped the moraine dam that had contained the lake for decades.
—
Suzanne Oconnell,
The Conversation,
13 Aug. 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
Dunes and living levees — gently sloping barriers covered in vegetation — can be overtopped by waves or erode, damaging or possibly rendering nearby homes uninhabitable.
—
Lindsey J. Smith,
San Francisco Chronicle,
28 Apr. 2022
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
Workers began clearing debris and mud at first light from a catchment area where material had overtopped concrete barriers along the northbound shoulder.
—
Bay City News Service,
Mercury News,
21 Feb. 2026
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
Seawalls were overtopped in sections along Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk.
—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
6 Oct. 2025
In 1941, a huge wave caused by a snow and ice avalanche that fell into Laguna Palcacocha, a glacial lake in the Peruvian Andes, overtopped the moraine dam that had contained the lake for decades.
—
Suzanne Oconnell,
The Conversation,
13 Aug. 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
Dunes and living levees — gently sloping barriers covered in vegetation — can be overtopped by waves or erode, damaging or possibly rendering nearby homes uninhabitable.
—
Lindsey J. Smith,
San Francisco Chronicle,
28 Apr. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtopped
Verb
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Even more frightening, the percentage exceeded 50% in many groups, including insects, terrestrial vertebrates, and marine species.
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By early 2023, the backlog exceeded a hundred thousand.
Verb
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During Thursday's World Cup match at New York-New Jersey Stadium between Ecuador and Germany, the total tournament record was surpassed at 3,587,539 fans, FIFA said.
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The tournament’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams, which added games in the group stage, is most likely one reason the record was surpassed so quickly.
Verb
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An online petition to bring him back has now topped 1,000 signatures, and Tuesday night, some of those supporters plan to speak at the school board meeting, hoping to change the district's decision.
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Parts of southern England have already topped 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) the past three days, but today’s and tomorrow’s temperatures are set to soar into the middle mid-90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) with some locations even topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius).
Verb
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The North Korean naval fleet has long been eclipsed by South Korean and United States naval forces, which field modern warships and submarines with sophisticated electronics and powerful missile launch capabilities.
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Among tight ends, that’s an annual average eclipsed only by San Francisco’s George Kittle and Arizona’s Trey McBride.
Cite this Entry
“Overtopped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtopped. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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