overtopped

verb

past tense of overtop
as in exceeded
to be greater, better, or stronger than a manager whose arrogance was overtopped only by his ineptitude

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 overtopped Its powerhouse was destroyed after a 1940 flood overtopped the dam, proving that continued operation has required rebuilding, not merely preservation. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026 Residents said they were caught off guard a year ago and didn’t receive any warning when floods overtopped the Guadalupe. — Jesse Bedayn, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026 The dam was in the process of being turned over to area residents when the failure occurred, releasing a torrent that also overtopped the downstream Sanford Dam and flooded the city of Midland. — ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026 Workers began clearing debris and mud at first light from a catchment area where material had overtopped concrete barriers along the northbound shoulder. — Bay City News Service, Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2026 The existing levee was just an inch or two away from being overtopped by floodwaters earlier this month, according to Orting’s mayor, Joshua Penner. — Evan Bush, NBC news, 21 Dec. 2025 Both rivers have overtopped their banks, affecting residential areas, farmland, and roadways, though gradual declines are expected through Friday and into the weekend. — Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025 Seawalls were overtopped in sections along Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk. — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025 Because the flooding has been a growing concern for Juneau over the past several years, city officials with federal assistance installed emergency flood barriers along several miles of riverbanks in the areas deemed most at risk for being overtopped. — Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtopped
  1. exceeded
  2. surpassed
  3. topped
  4. eclipsed
Verb
  • The city's spending on the two cases has therefore already exceeded the contract cap by $382,000.
    — Brian Maass, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • An Allegheny River site southeast of Ohio exceeded that benchmark every time it was tested.
    — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of exceeded
Verb
  • However, safety measures improved quickly, and no worker has surpassed that annual limit since 2013.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The studio’s plan is to ideally attach Hudson and McConaughey to reprise their roles from the original feature that surpassed $177 million at the global box office.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of surpassed
Verb
  • Jones and Feliciano won their introductory press conference Monday, creating a level of engagement and connection that topped even the public introductions of Moores and Lucchino in 1995 and the Seidler-Ron Fowler group in 2012.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Nature zones, calm corners, and community hangouts topped the list of spaces people wanted.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of topped
Verb
  • But there are two other AI behemoths still waiting in the wings for their turn to go public, and at least one of them has no intention of being eclipsed by Elon Musk.
    — Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026
  • In the first 10 months of the 2026 fiscal year, interest costs have eclipsed Medicare healthcare outlays to become the second-largest line item in the federal budget, behind the Social Security pension system.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of eclipsed

Browse Nearby Words

overtop
overtopped
overtopping
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Cite this Entry

“Overtopped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtopped. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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