overthrow

English

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /ovəɻˈθɻɔʊ/

• Audio (US)

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Etymology 1

From over- +‎ throw.

Verb

overthrow (third-person singular simple present overthrows, present participle overthrowing, simple past overthrew, past participle overthrown)

1. (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.

2. (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.

Translations

bring about downfall

• Arabic: أطاح (ar) ('aTaaHa)
• Armenian: տապալել (hy) (tapalel) , կործանել (hy) (korçanel) 
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 推翻 (cmn) (tuīfān), 打翻 (cmn) (dǎfān)

• Dutch: omverwerpen (nl)
• Esperanto: faligi (eo)
• Finnish: kaataa (fi)
• French: renverser (fr), déposer (fr)
• German: stürzen (de), umstürzen (de)
• Greek: ανατρέπω (el) (anatrépo) 

• Hungarian: megdönt (hu)
• Indonesian: kudeta (id)
• Japanese: 滅ぼす (ja) (ほろぼす, horobosu), 転覆する (ja) (てんぷくする, tenpuku-suru)
• Nahuatl: tepeua (nah), tequiua (nah)
• Polish: obalać (pl)
• Portuguese: derrocar (pt)
• Russian: свергать (ru) (svergát')  impf., свергнуть (ru) (svérgnut')  pf.
• Serbo-Croatian: svrgnuti (sh), srušiti (sh)
• Spanish: derrocar (es)
• Swedish: störta (sv)

Derived terms

• overthrowal

Noun

overthrow (plural overthrows)

1. A removal, especially of a ruler or government, by force or threat of force.
   • 1945, George Orwell, Animal Farm, chapter 1

     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

• Armenian: տապալում (hy) (tapalum) 
• Dutch: ondergang (nl) m
• Greek: ανατροπή (el) (anatropí) f 

• Russian: свержение (ru) (sveržénije) n 
• Serbo-Croatian: svrgnuće (sh), prevrat (sh)

Etymology 2

over- +‎ throw

Verb

overthrow (third-person singular simple present overthrows, present participle overthrowing, simple past overthrew, past participle overthrown)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To throw (something) so that it goes too far.

Noun

overthrow (plural overthrows)

1. (sports) A throw that goes too far.

   He overthrew first base, for an error.

2. (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 the citations page.