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# topple

«topple» in Mova's school dictionary: **to become unsteady and fall over, or to push something so…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (topple, topples, toppled, toppling)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To topple is to become unsteady and fall over, or to push something so that it falls. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/#m1)

2) To topple a leader or government means to make them lose power. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons it is used about balance and stability: a tall tower with a narrow base topples easily, and a wide base helps it stand. In play, a tower of blocks topples. In history and news, people topple rulers. Phrases: «topple over», «topple down», «be toppled».

### examples

- The tower of blocks toppled over. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/#x1)
- The strong wind toppled the old tree. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/#x2)
- Don't stack the cups so high or they will topple. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/#x3)
- A wide base stops a tower from toppling. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/#x4)
- The vase toppled off the shelf and broke. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/#x5)
- The cat toppled the pile of books. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/#x6)
- The people toppled the cruel king. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/#x7)
- Then the ogre fell down and broke his crown, and the beanstalk came toppling after. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/#x8)

### note

Regular verb: toppled, toppling. Can be used with or without an object: «the tower toppled» or «the wind toppled the tower». Toppling means falling from standing, especially something tall.

### In the corpora

- [Standing still on a bike you topple at once, but when you ride you hardly have to think.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/25-bicycles-and-other-wheels/2/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «topple» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/topple/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.