verb
topple
TOPL
verb
1
To fall over, or to cause something to fall over, especially from being top-heavy or unstable.
"The stack of boxes toppled over when the door slammed."
"A gust of wind toppled the old fence."
2
To overthrow a government or leader.
"The uprising eventually toppled the dictatorship."
How to Use Topple
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo fall over (or knock something over), or, for governments and leaders, to be overthrown.
Common pairings
topple a regime
topple over
topple a statue
Word Forms
toppled past tense, topples plural, topples singular
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Etymology
From "top" plus "-le", a suffix that historically formed repeated or gradual actions — the sense of something tipping over bit by bit from being top-heavy.