Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Overthrow
Oˊver-throw′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Overthrew
; p. p.
Overthrown
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Overthrowing
.] 1.
To throw over; to overturn; to upset; to turn upside down.
His wife
overthrew
the table. Jer. Taylor.
When the walls of Thebes he
overthrew
. Dryden.
[Gloucester] that seeks to
overthrow
religion. Shakespeare
Syn. – To demolish; overturn; prostrate; destroy; ruin; subvert; overcome; conquer; defeat; discomfit; vanquish; beat; rout.
O′ver-throwˊ
,Noun.
1.
The act of overthrowing; the state of being overthrown; ruin.
Your sudden
overthrow
much rueth me. Spenser.
2.
(a)
(Baseball)
The act of throwing a ball too high, as over a player’s head.
(b)
(Cricket)
A faulty return of the ball by a fielder, so that the striker makes an additional run.
Webster 1828 Edition
Overthrow
OVERTHROW
,Verb.
T.
1.
To turn upside down.His wife overthrew the table.
2.
To throw down.3.
To ruin; to demolish.When the walls of Thebes he overthrew.
4.
To defeat; to conquer; to vanquish; as, to overthrow an army or an enemy.5.
To subvert; to destroy; as, to overthrow the constitution or state; to overthrow religion.Definition 2025
overthrow
overthrow
English
Verb
overthrow (third-person singular simple present overthrows, present participle overthrowing, simple past overthrew, past participle overthrown)
- (transitive, now rare) To throw down to the ground, to overturn.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, John II:
- And he made a scourge of smale cordes, and drave them all out off the temple, bothe shepe and oxen, and powred doune the changers money, and overthrue their tables.
- Jeremy Taylor
- His wife overthrew the table.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, John II:
- (transitive) To bring about the downfall of (a government, etc.), especially by force.
- I hate the current government, but not enough to want to overthrow them.
- Dryden
- When the walls of Thebes he overthrew.
- Shakespeare
- [Gloucester] that seeks to overthrow religion.
Translations
bring about downfall
|
|
Derived terms
Noun
overthrow (plural overthrows)
- A removal, especially of a ruler or government, by force or threat of force.
- 1945 May, George Orwell, chapter 1, in Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, London: Secker & Warburg, OCLC 3655473:
- What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race!
-
Hypernyms
- (removal by force): downfall
Coordinate terms
- (removal by force): collapse
Translations
removal by force or threat of force
|
Etymology 2
Verb
overthrow (third-person singular simple present overthrows, present participle overthrowing, simple past overthrew, past participle overthrown)
- (transitive, intransitive) To throw (something) so that it goes too far.
Noun
overthrow (plural overthrows)
- (sports) A throw that goes too far.
- He overthrew first base, for an error.
- (cricket) A run scored by the batting side when a fielder throws the ball back to the infield, whence it continues to the opposite outfield.
Quotations
- * For usage examples of this term, see Citations:overthrow.