What does "topsy-turvy" mean?
An act of turning something backwards or upside down, or the situation that something is in after this has happened.
Topsy-turvy
/ˌtɒpsɪˈtəːvi/ adj, adv, noun, verb
adj, adv, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An act of turning something backwards or upside down, or the situation that something is in after this has happened.
- Grammar: topsy-turvy is listed as adj, adv, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: against the grain, anarchic, arsy varsy, ass backwards.
- Usage evidence: The office has been topsy-turvy since the merger upset everything.
How to use "topsy-turvy"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "topsy-turvy" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "topsy-turvy" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "topsy-turvy" is acting as adj, adv, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of turning something backwards or upside down, or the situation that something is in after this has happened. countable
"Perhaps he was at a loss for the points of compass, as is often the case in tumbles and topsy-turvies."
- 2 A situation where the natural order of things has been upset. countable, figuratively
"[I ...] has seed a heap of scatterments and topsyturvies: here's hoping dat you all may swim smoofly along the briny waves of sacrificin' time, and ford the Jordan of destructive equinoxes, while fiery billows roll beneath!"
- 3 Chaos, confusion, disorder. figuratively, uncountable
"Why should we [...] use it [our sense of the ludicrous] to degrade the healthy appetites and affections of our nature as they are seen to be degraded in insane patients whose system, all out of joint, finds matter for screaming laughter in mere topsy-turvy, [...?]"
Verb
- 1 To turn topsy-turvy or upside down; to invert. transitive
"Mr. [George] Eliot's descriptions of scenery are perfect: [...] and so are his descriptions of children. [...] We forbear (though with regret) the introduction to our readers of Totty's bald doll, ignominously ‘topsy turvied’ by her insulting brother."
- 2 To throw into chaos or disorder; to upset. figuratively, transitive
"[...] Mrs. Sykes said, ‘her man was the wust she ever knowed when he got topsy-turveyed.’ And as now, he began to get topsy-turveyed pretty regularly before he had finished his daily business with the retiring host of the Holly Bush, there was not much peace at home."
Adjective
- 1 Backwards or upside down.
"If I travel Aunt, I touch at your Antipodes—your Antipodes are a good raſcally ſort of topſy turvy Fellows—If I had a Bumper I'd ſtand upon my Head and drink a Health to ’em— [...]"
- 2 Chaotic; disorderly. figuratively
"[John] Chrysostom saith, An Oath came in when Evils increased, when men appeared unfaithful, when all things became Topsy Turvy."
Adjective
- 1 in utter disorder wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Backwards or upside down; also, having been overturned or upset.
"Thou toyl'ſt in perrill, and the vvindie ſtorme, / Doth topſide-turuey toſſe thee as thou floteſt."
- 2 Not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner; chaotically. figuratively
"Diuilliſh it is to deſtroy a cittie, but more then diuilliſhe, to euert citties, to betraye countreies, to cause ſeruaunts to kyll their maiſters, parentes theyr children, children their parentes, wiues their huſbandes, and to turne all things topſy turuy, and yet it doth ſo, as ſhalbe declared."
Adverb
- 1 in disorderly haste wordnet
- 2 in a disordered manner wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The office has been topsy-turvy since the merger upset everything."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "topsy-turvy"?
Common synonyms include: against the grain, anarchic, arsy varsy, ass backwards, backward, backwards.
How do you use "topsy-turvy" in a sentence?
The office has been topsy-turvy since the merger upset everything.
How do you pronounce "topsy-turvy"?
Pronounced /ˌtɒpsɪˈtəːvi/.
Etymology
The origin of the adverb and adjective are uncertain. Topsy is probably derived from top or tops, though this does not explain the -sy ending; it has been suggested that the latter comes from so (thus, top so) or from top-set or top-side, modified to match the -y ending of turvy. The term topside-turvy is mentioned in the Anglo-Irish writer Laurence Sterne’s novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759–1767).Turvy is probably derived from a rare (scarcely attested) obsolete English word terve, turve (“to be thrown down; to fall; to dash down; to cast, throw; to turn back or down; to fold or roll over”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of; inclined to’), with turve inherited from Middle English terven (“to throw (something) down; to throw (something) into confusion; to level; to resort or turn (to something); to go, move; to turn; to collapse, fall”) […], perhaps from Old English *tierfan (compare Old English tearflian (“to roll over, wallow”)) or from Old English torfian (“to launch, throw; to shoot missiles at; to stone; to be tossed”), from Proto-Germanic *turbōną (“to fling, hurl”), *turbijaną (“to turn, twist”) (whence Old English ġetyrfian (“to assail with missiles; to assault, attack”)), from Proto-Indo-European *derbʰ- (“to spin, twist”). Thus, the term as a whole may literally mean “having the top side thrown or turned down”. The noun and verb are probably derived from the adverb and adjective.