Upend

//ʌpˈɛnd// name, verb

name, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To end up; to set on end. transitive
  2. 2
    set, turn, or stand on end wordnet
  3. 3
    To tip or turn over.

    "When he upended the bottle of water over his sleeping sister, the lid popped off and surprised them both."

  4. 4
    become turned or set on end wordnet
  5. 5
    To destroy, invalidate, overthrow, or defeat. figuratively, transitive

    "The scientific evidence upended the popular myth."

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    To affect or upset drastically. figuratively, transitive

    "By the middle of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic upended normal life for virtually all Americans."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A hamlet in Kirtling parish, East Cambridgeshire district, Cambridgeshire, England (OS grid ref TL7058).

Synonyms

All synonyms
beatcast upclobberdrubelevateerect

Example

More examples

"The dictator's fall will upend the political landscape."

Etymology

From up- + end.

Related phrases

turn over

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.