as in exceeding
to be greater, better, or stronger than
a manager whose arrogance was overtopped only by his ineptitude
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Recent Examples of overtopping
The 75-year-old levee had multiple failures in recent days, from seepage and water overtopping it to a partial collapse at one home, county officials said.
—
Steven Rosenfeld, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026
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
That fateful day, the dam collapsed, releasing a torrent of floodwater that swallowed thousands of homes in the area, ripping some off their foundations while leaving others severely damaged, and overtopping the Sanford Dam.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025
Steven Rosenfeld, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026
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
That fateful day, the dam collapsed, releasing a torrent of floodwater that swallowed thousands of homes in the area, ripping some off their foundations while leaving others severely damaged, and overtopping the Sanford Dam.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtopping
Verb
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In one high-volume manufacturing evaluation, Rhoda reported that a robot system completed a component-processing workflow in under two minutes per cycle without human intervention, exceeding customer performance targets.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Mar. 2026
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In practice, silver moves 4% to 6% in a single day, with swings sometimes exceeding 10%, notes Jeremy Mullin, a stock strategist at money management firm Zacks Investment Research in Chicago.—
Sharon Wu,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Anze Kopitar became the Kings’ all-time leading scorer Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, surpassing Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne’s franchise record.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2026
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Junior Caminero hit a solo drive off Skenes in the second to give the Dominicans a record 15 homers in the tournament, surpassing the mark set by Mexico in 2009.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Instead, consider leaning into the bagels and lox concept and topping each egg with a few capers or a pinch of everything bagel seasoning.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 Mar. 2026
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After topping every Summer Paralympics since 2004, China again finished first in the medals table at the Winter Paralympics.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The 51-point win was the largest margin of victory in Big Ten tournament history, eclipsing the 33-point mark Iowa set during its 2023 win over Ohio State.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2026
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He's been consistent, eclipsing 20 points per game 13 times in SEC play and scoring 10 or more points in all but one game this season.—
Tony Catalina,
Austin American Statesman,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overtopping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtopping. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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