as in fell
to go down from an upright position suddenly and involuntarily
the tower of blocks toppled even though I bumped into it ever so slightly
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Recent Examples of toppled
For more than a week, the country’s teacher’s union has blockaded roads and toppled World Cup statues in an annual push to win better working conditions.
—
ABC News, 10 June 2026
The master lawsuit also targets a slew of defendants who have been blamed for overgrown brush, toppled wooden power poles, natural gas explosions and a lack of water, all contributing to the mammoth blaze.
—Tony Saavedra, Daily News, 10 June 2026
Iran largely stood back while Israel eviscerated them and assassinated or toppled their leaders.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026
Lasers, punches, and tail swings toppled skyscrapers, giving each battle a cool, cinematic feel.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 9 June 2026
But in a world of PalmPilots and BlackBerrys, it was toppled by flashier competition and discontinued in 1998 — even though it is credited with paving the way for the iPhone.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 8 June 2026
Satrapi, who was nine years old when Pahlavi was toppled and Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979, recounted her experiences growing up under the latter’s draconian government in the graphic novel Persepolis.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 June 2026
On the mainland, the smokestack at Jackson Memorial Hospital toppled over, cutting off power.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 June 2026
Last Thursday, during the test failure, one of Blue Origin’s massive launch towers toppled, and the other appears to be seriously damaged.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 June 2026
ABC News, 10 June 2026
The master lawsuit also targets a slew of defendants who have been blamed for overgrown brush, toppled wooden power poles, natural gas explosions and a lack of water, all contributing to the mammoth blaze.
—Tony Saavedra, Daily News, 10 June 2026
Iran largely stood back while Israel eviscerated them and assassinated or toppled their leaders.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026
Lasers, punches, and tail swings toppled skyscrapers, giving each battle a cool, cinematic feel.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 9 June 2026
But in a world of PalmPilots and BlackBerrys, it was toppled by flashier competition and discontinued in 1998 — even though it is credited with paving the way for the iPhone.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 8 June 2026
Satrapi, who was nine years old when Pahlavi was toppled and Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979, recounted her experiences growing up under the latter’s draconian government in the graphic novel Persepolis.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 June 2026
On the mainland, the smokestack at Jackson Memorial Hospital toppled over, cutting off power.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 June 2026
Last Thursday, during the test failure, one of Blue Origin’s massive launch towers toppled, and the other appears to be seriously damaged.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toppled
Verb
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Haas wasn't sure what disease could have felled a buck so clearly in its prime.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Yet Christine’s fate took a devastating turn when her father died, her husband was felled by the plague a year later.—
Diana Arterian,
Literary Hub,
4 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Weiss, best known for her work as an opinion journalist and the launch of her site The Free Press, has stumbled in her new role in large part due to a lack of experience with TV operations.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
9 June 2026
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In the fall of 1995, hunters stumbled on Josette’s bones in the woods near rural Carmel, an hour north of the Bronx.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Britain’s Katie Boulter and Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez tripped over Lacoste signs during their early round matches.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
7 June 2026
-
Drawing 0-0 at home with Brentford in March, the visitors should have conceded a penalty and been put down to 10 men when Tavernier was tripped in the area by Michael Kayode.—
Graham Scott,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
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There’s a local doctor, Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), who has slipped into alcoholic despair since his wife left him, and Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), a best-selling author and self-professed recovering liberal, whose rightward drift has led him to write an unreadable book about Wicks’s life.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
11 Dec. 2025
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With two helpers beside her, Machado slipped through every control undetected, arriving at the coast just before midnight.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
11 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Highflying names such as Nvidia and Broadcom slid as server maker Super Micro Computer tumbled 28% on a $7-billion stock sale plan, stoking fresh worries about an AI-fueled bubble.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
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Anglogold Ashanti tumbled nearly 7%, while Harmony Gold Mining and Gold Fields both lost roughly 6%.—
Michelle Fox,
CNBC,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Toppled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toppled. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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