topples

verb

present tense third-person singular of topple
as in falls
to go down from an upright position suddenly and involuntarily the tower of blocks toppled even though I bumped into it ever so slightly

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of topples Spain topples Argentina Rodri of Spain celebrates by lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy with teammates after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina. — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 20 July 2026 In 2003 the United States topples Hussein and delivers him to his executioners. — Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 15 June 2026 Byron Nelson topples Guyer, evens series Byron Nelson defeated Denton Guyer 2-1 to even the two squads’ Class 6A Division II regional final series at Byron Nelson High School. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 May 2026 Weiss took the recent Iranian protests seriously, asking staff during one morning call if the new round of protests could be the wave that topples the regime, leading to skepticism from some journalists in London. — Max Tani, semafor.com, 2 Mar. 2026 Nvidia’s sales of the computing chips powering the artificial intelligence craze surged beyond the lofty bar set by stock market analysts, a performance that may ease recent jitters about a Big Tech boom turning into a bust that topples the world’s most valuable company. — Austin American Statesman, 19 Nov. 2025 Note that if Bieber topples critical and commercial giants with an Album of the Year win for SWAG, Dijon also claims one. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for topples
  1. falls
  2. stumbles
  3. tumbles
  4. slips
  5. trips
Verb
  • Methane evaporates, forms clouds, falls as rain, and collects in lakes and seas.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Then, after darkness falls, the annual Perseid meteor shower will peak beneath perfectly moonless skies.
    — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of falls
Verb
  • Drunken dragonrider Ulf the White's rage proves pivotal Debaucherous dragonrider Ulf White (Tom Bennett) stumbles into playing a major role in the final battle with his dragon Silverwing.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Bartels and Howe pitched the movie as a love letter focusing on a single summer about a kid who stumbles into a restaurant and finds his calling.
    — Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of stumbles
Verb
  • Front load washers are built with a horizontal drum that tumbles the clothes in each cycle.
    — Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Kris tumbles, scrambles up, and, in the movie’s best throwaway, apologizes to the advancing killer.
    — JP Mangalindan, Time, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of tumbles
Verb
  • The eclipse will unfold during August's new moon phase, as the lunar disk slips silently between the sun and Earth in the daytime sky.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 9 Aug. 2026
  • The HushJet Mini has a slender design that slips right inside my travel backpack’s bottle pouch.
    — Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of slips
Verb
  • Standard rooms already feel generous by Vegas standards, and suites step up to apartment-like layouts, with separate living areas that make longer stays or work trips more comfortable.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Aug. 2026
  • An agent holding valid credentials, performing thousands of plausible-looking actions across four days, trips neither alarm.
    — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of trips

Browse Nearby Words

toppled
topples
toppling
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Topples.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/topples. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on topples

Nglish: Translation of topples for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All