overtopping
Rising past peak
Overtopping is water flowing over the top of a barrier—a dam, levee, or seawall—that was meant to contain it.
The term appears in engineering and flood management contexts: The storm surge caused overtopping of the coastal defenses.
More generally, to overtop something is to rise above or exceed it in height: Skyscrapers overtop the old cathedral.
Going beyond limits
- outstrippingGoing beyond in speed
- eclipsingObscuring by surpassing
- transcendingExceeding normal bounds
- outdoingSurpassing in performance
outperforming · overshadowing · outpacing · surmounting · outmatching · outclassing · besting · outshining
Exceed capacity and spill
- spilloverExcess that escapes
- leveeRiver flood barrier
- breachBreaking of agreement
- damWater-holding barrier
weir · crest · floodwall · embankment · dike · seawall · flashflood · runoff
Becoming too large for
- crowdingExcessive gathering in limited space
- shadingDepicting light and darkness
- canopyOverhead protective covering
- understoryForest's lower vegetation tier
overgrowth · vegetation · hedgerow · screening · foliage · climbing · vines · brambles
exceeding
Going beyond limits
- outstrippingGoing beyond in speed
- eclipsingObscuring by surpassing
- transcendingExceeding normal bounds
outdoing · outperforming · overshadowing · outpacing · surmounting · outmatching · outclassing · besting · outshining · outdistancing
overflow
Exceed capacity and spill
dam · weir · crest · floodwall · embankment · dike · seawall · flashflood · runoff · highwater
outgrowing
Becoming too large for
- crowdingExcessive gathering in limited space
- shadingDepicting light and darkness
- canopyOverhead protective covering
understory · overgrowth · vegetation · hedgerow · screening · foliage · climbing · vines · brambles · thicket
- floodingmonsoon, flash flood, flood damage, flood zone, river flood
- leveeslevee, levee breach, embankment, dike, floodwall
overtoppingundercutting
Charging less than rivals
falling below · underlying · underlaying · undershooting · bottoming