as in falling
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 toppling
In Sabalenka’s quarter, the most dangerous player may be Iva Jović, the 18-year-old Californian who came within a point of toppling Gauff at the Italian Open.
—
Ava Wallace, New York Times, 21 May 2026
Two rounds of swift but strong thunderstorms blew through Chicago Monday morning and afternoon, toppling a small plane at Midway Airport and leaving some power outages and damage in their wake.
—Adam Harrington, CBS News, 18 May 2026
On May 7, the midfielder surpassed 331 career goals for the Raiders, toppling the school record that Dietrick held since 2011.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 18 May 2026
Such toppling energy may be necessary for Ionesco’s vision to spontaneously ignite into antic life.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Dash camera video from inside the truck shows the moment of impact and appears to show the truck toppling onto its side.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 4 May 2026
Coach Scott Bemand turned his attention to toppling France in France for the first time next Saturday.
—ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026
Whether that victory translates to an incumbent-toppling result in June remains to be seen.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 16 Apr. 2026
The tornado left a trail of damage in Hillsdale, Kansas, Monday night, wrecking an RV park, toppling power lines, leveling homes and destroying a storage facility near West 255th Street.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2026
Ava Wallace, New York Times, 21 May 2026
Two rounds of swift but strong thunderstorms blew through Chicago Monday morning and afternoon, toppling a small plane at Midway Airport and leaving some power outages and damage in their wake.
—Adam Harrington, CBS News, 18 May 2026
On May 7, the midfielder surpassed 331 career goals for the Raiders, toppling the school record that Dietrick held since 2011.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 18 May 2026
Such toppling energy may be necessary for Ionesco’s vision to spontaneously ignite into antic life.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Dash camera video from inside the truck shows the moment of impact and appears to show the truck toppling onto its side.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 4 May 2026
Coach Scott Bemand turned his attention to toppling France in France for the first time next Saturday.
—ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026
Whether that victory translates to an incumbent-toppling result in June remains to be seen.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 16 Apr. 2026
The tornado left a trail of damage in Hillsdale, Kansas, Monday night, wrecking an RV park, toppling power lines, leveling homes and destroying a storage facility near West 255th Street.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toppling
Verb
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Like India, Indonesia has been wrestling with a falling currency, and on May 20, the country's central bank raised its policy interest rates by a larger-than-expected 50 basis points.—
Sri Jegarajah,Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
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Anyone who likes keeping the balcony doors open at night and falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves should enjoy the Ocean Rooms.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Verb
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This includes people who do not know each other and who did not coordinate with one another to gather all somehow separately, hearing about Manhattanhenge (or simply stumbling across the crowd) and enjoying the view together.—
Chelsea Gohd,
Space.com,
1 June 2026
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The video then shows Henderson stumbling towards a wall in the area, where someone can be seen calling for help.—
Brittney Ermon,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
Verb
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The broadest of comedies, the film’s often puerile humor is driven by an endless stream of male bungling, blundering and whining, only to be kicked up a notch by pratfalls of nearly every variety, from getting bucked off a galloping horse to tripping into a pile of trash.—
Natalia Winkelman,
Variety,
27 May 2026
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Just the usual catching a skate blade or tripping over a tree root.—
Risa Jampel,
STAT,
22 May 2026
Verb
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Wednesday's vote signals his support for the war may be slipping even among some members of his own party.—
Claudia Grisales,
NPR,
3 June 2026
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And after a day navigating crowds, returning to the hotel feels kind of like slipping back behind a velvet rope.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Verb
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The team spun them in rotors filled with dirt and rock to mimic falling down slopes and tumbling through sediment-laden floods.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
2 June 2026
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Protect Other Bathroom Items In small bathrooms, your entire makeup stash might be an inch away from tumbling into the toilet.—
Abby Wolner,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Toppling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toppling. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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