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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An earlier December lawsuit had been dismissed by the judge, who said the organization did not sufficiently prove the president was exceeding his powers.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
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The market capitalization of a company like Apple in December 2023 reached $3 trillion, exceeding the combined GDP of at least 140 countries.—
Sven van Mourik,
The Dial,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Three months after the Prescott deal, Juan Soto agreed to the biggest-ever contract in MLB, signing a 15-year deal worth a staggering $765m with the New York Mets, surpassing Shohei Ohtani’s $700m deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers announced in late 2023.—
Dan Sheldon,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
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Her season total for points was the fifth-best in program history, surpassing Sophie Cunningham’s 2018-19 mark.—
Aaron Segal,
Kansas City Star,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Alexander-Walker, known more for his defense, is averaging more than 20 points per game after never topping 10 during his eight seasons as a bench player in New Orleans, Utah and Minnesota.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
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After wrapping up his performance of chart-topping classics and ATL anthems with Sleepy Brown, Big Boi made his way from the stage to the Impossible Foods food truck not to eat, at least not right away, but to serve.—
Christopher Harris,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The 45 in the Celtics’ Wednesday night victory is now the second-highest total, eclipsing a pair of 44 3-pointer games.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2026
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The Congressional Budget Office projects debt held by the public will surge from 101% of GDP today to 120% of GDP by 2036, eclipsing the post–World War II record.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overtopping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtopping. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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