ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Upend

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ʌpˈɛnd/ · Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Upend is a verb meaning (transitive) To end up; to set on end.

Meaning

(transitive) To end up; to set on end.

More Meanings

  1. (transitive) To tip or turn over.
  2. (transitive, figurative) To destroy, invalidate, overthrow, or defeat.
  3. (transitive, figurative) To affect or upset drastically.

Example Sentences

upend the box and empty the contents
The scientific evidence upended the popular myth.
By the middle of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic upended normal life for virtually all Americans.
When he upended the bottle of water over his sleeping sister, the lid popped off and surprised them both.

Word Forms

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include inversion, overturn, topple, defeat, overthrow, up-end.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.