dethrone

American

[dee-throhn] / diˈθroʊn /

verb (used with object)

dethroned, dethroning

to remove from a throne; depose.
to remove from any position of power or authority.

dethrone British

/ dɪˈθrəʊn /

verb

(tr) to remove from a throne or deprive of any high position or title; depose

the champion was dethroned by a young boxer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

dethronement noun
dethroner noun
undethroned adjective

Etymology

Origin of dethrone

First recorded in 1600–10; de- + throne

Explanation

To dethrone means to remove a king or queen from power, like when Mary, Queen of Scots was kicked out of Scotland. You can also dethrone someone less formally, as when you dethrone your school's fastest runner by beating her mile time. In today's politics, to force a leader out of office is to depose them — except in the case of a monarchy, when we use the word dethrone. It literally means "to remove from the throne" and therefore refers specifically to those who sit on thrones: namely, kings and queens. You can also use this word in a figurative way to mean "remove from a dominant position." So, for example, you can say that the new jump rope champion dethrones the previous record holder.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But, by the numbers, the Spurs have already distinguished themselves as the likeliest team to dethrone the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

The 17-year-old recovered from a horror crash to dethrone the United States' two-time defending champion Chloe Kim in the halfpipe on Thursday in Italy.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026

After a disastrous rookie season, Williams—the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2024—exhibited astonishing progress over the course of the year to dethrone the Detroit Lions in the NFC North.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026

With the launch of Atlas, OpenAI isn’t just looking to dethrone Google Chrome as the default browser: It also wants ChatGPT to be the default operating system for the AI age.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2025

We were better equipped than many founders of dynasties had been when they walked north to dethrone an emperor; they had been peasants like us.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023