overtopping

verb

present participle of overtop
as in exceeding
to be greater, better, or stronger than a manager whose arrogance was overtopped only by his ineptitude

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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 overtopping Additional steps to prevent the water from overtopping the dam. — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtopping
  1. exceeding
  2. surpassing
  3. topping
  4. eclipsing
Verb
  • Bianco’s representative last week filed a claim for damages exceeding $10,000.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Apple's new foldable iPhone Duo is off to a strong start, with delivery wait times exceeding three months.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of exceeding
Verb
  • Winter plays Hogan Young, the charming, cocky and ambitious son of the Vice President, who has every intention of following his father into politics — and ultimately surpassing him.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Stokes finished with three blocks and now has a WNBA Finals record of 14 in the four games, surpassing the old record of 12 by Brittney Griner and Sylvia Fowles.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of surpassing
Verb
  • Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin and CSX were among the latest companies to join the list of those topping profit expectations for the summer, and gains for their stocks helped limit the market's losses Thursday.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The union argues that income limits topping $500,000 in parts of the state make it more a tax break for the wealthy than an education program.
    — Lara Murray-Sterzel, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of topping
Verb
  • The deal marked the first time an Orange County residential property crossed the nine-figure threshold, easily eclipsing the previous $70 million benchmark set three years before in Irvine Cove.
    — Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Across the broader ecosystem, major Republican organizations had roughly $1 billion available, eclipsing the $579 million available for comparable Democratic groups, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings.
    — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of eclipsing

Browse Nearby Words

overtopped
overtopping
overtops
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Cite this Entry

“Overtopping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtopping. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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