overtop

/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈtɒp/

overtop verb: to be higher than; to rise over the top of.

Verb

overtop (third-person singular simple present overtops, present participle overtopping, simple past and past participle overtopped)

(transitive) To be higher than; to rise over the top of.
- From thence we came without the Eaſtern gate, (ſtanding on a low Banke, called the daughter of Syon, that over-toppeth the valley of Iehoſaphat,) unto an immoveable ſtone, upon the which they ſaid St. Stephen was ſtoned to death, the firſt Martyr of the Chriſtian faith; and the faithfull...1640, William Lithgow, “The Sixt Part”, in The Totall Diſcourſe, Of the rare Adventures, and painefull Peregrinations of long nineteene yeares Travailes from Scotland, to the moſt famous Kingdomes in...
- Nor was he content with thus strongly garrisoning the fort, but he likewise added exceedingly to its strength by furnishing it with a formidable battery of quaker guns—rearing a stupendous flag-staff in the centre which overtopped the whole city—and moreover by building a great windmill on one of...1809, Diedrich Knickerbocker [pseudonym; Washington Irving], chapter III, in A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. […], volume I, New York, N.Y....
(transitive) To place too many toppings on.
- to overtop a pizza

overtop (not comparable)

(Canada, US) Over the top.
- Paul put the skull back in its proper place, put back the coffin lid, and kicked dirt and rocks overtop.2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 154

overtop (plural overtops)

A garment designed to be worn over the top portion of other clothes, such as an overshirt, vest, or overtunic.
- Featured is the big plaid, streaked with white in a softly gathered skirt & an overtop of velveteen with a dacron polytester^([sic]) oliver bow blouse in white.1964 August 27, The Upland News, seventieth year, number 24, Upland, Calif., page 3
- A very obvious point, but one easily overlooked, is that children from 0–5 grow all the time, so a garment often only fits perfectly for a short time. So if, for instance, a long sleeved dress worn during the summer is visualized as being worn under an overtop in winter, you will have to allow for...1969, Gillian Lockwood, Making Clothes for Young Children, London: Studio Vista; New York, N.Y.: Watson-Guptill Publications, →ISBN, pages 6–7

There was a single birch tree that overtopped the other trees on the island, and was now picked out against the moon-drenched sky.1955, William Golding, The Inheritors, Faber and Faber, published 2005, page 79:
The U.S.A. has a mountain railway which overtops all in Switzerland for altitude, even the 11,333ft of the Jungfrau Railway.1963 July, “Beyond the Channel: Switzerland: U.S. buys Swiss rack equipment”, in Modern Railways, page 60:
[…] try to switch one off and current still leaks through, like water overtopping a levee.2009 February 20, Robert F. Service, “MATERIALS SCIENCE: Is Silicon's Reign Nearing Its End?”, in Science, volume 323, number 5917, →DOI...
So if, for instance, a long sleeved dress worn during the summer is visualized as being worn under an overtop in winter, you will have to allow for 6 months’ growth.1969, Gillian Lockwood, Making Clothes for Young Children, London: Studio Vista; New York, N.Y.: Watson-Guptill Publications, →ISBN, pages...

Verb
third-person singular present	overtops
present participle	overtopping
past participle	overtopped
past	overtopped
Noun
plural	overtops

From over- + top.

44 more rhymesFewer rhymes

What does overtop mean?: Overtop means to be higher than; to rise over the top of.
How do you use overtop in a sentence?: There was a single birch tree that overtopped the other trees on the island, and was now picked out against the moon-drenched sky.
What part of speech is overtop?: Overtop can be a verb, an adverb or a noun.
How do you pronounce overtop?: Overtop is pronounced /ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈtɒp/.
What is the past tense of overtop?: The past tense of overtop is overtopped.

Adapted from Wiktionary: overtop (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “overtop.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/overtop. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.