upend

verb

up·​end ˌəp-ˈend 

upended; upending; upends

transitive verb

1

: to set or stand on end

also : overturn sense 1

2

a

: to affect to the point of being upset or flurried

a … literary shocker, designed to upend the credulous matrons

—Wolcott Gibbs

b

: defeat, beat

intransitive verb

: to rise on an end

Synonyms

• beat
• best
• conquer
• defeat
• dispatch
• do down [British]
• get
• get around
• lick
• master
• overbear
• overcome
• overmatch
• prevail (over)
• skunk
• stop
• subdue
• surmount
• take
• trim
• triumph (over)
• win (against)
• worst

Examples of upend in a Sentence

He upended the bicycle to fix its flat tire.

I upended the bucket to use as a stool.

The security inspector upended my bag and dumped everything out.

A giant wave upended the surfers.

The midfielder was upended before he got the ball.

Recent Examples on the Web

That could upend a lot of vacation plans for tourists who were planning to see the country’s public lands over the holidays. —Brian Bennett, TIME, 20 Dec. 2024

Then, Pinellas voters last month added two ballpark deal critics to the board, creating a new anti-stadium majority that could upend the entire deal. —Kathryn Varn, Axios, 17 Dec. 2024

Wake Me Most Wickedly by Felicia Grossman With this Snow White redux, Felicia Grossman once again uses fairy-tale retellings to upend caricature and unpack stereotypes in Wake Me Most Wickedly. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 13 Dec. 2024

Long before the French president upended the country’s politics by crushing the traditional right and left, Bayrou tapped into voter frustration with entrenched conservative and Socialist camps. —Sylvie Corbet, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

upend

verb

up·​end ˌə-ˈpend 

: to set, stand, or rise on end