upside down
Americanadverb
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with the upper part undermost.
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in or into complete disorder; topsy-turvy.
The burglars turned the house upside down.
adjective
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(usually postpositive; upside-down when prenominal) turned over completely; inverted
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informal (upside-down when prenominal) confused; muddled; topsy-turvy
an upside-down world
adverb
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in an inverted fashion
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in a chaotic or crazy manner
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of upside down
1300–50; re-formation ( see upside) of Middle English upsedoun, earlier up so doun ( see up, so 1, down 1; sense of so obscure)
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.
A bricklayer who coaches eight-to-12-year-olds, Cordero is using the football fever whipped up by the World Cup to try to bring a little joy to children whose lives were turned upside down by the disaster.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
“I saw part of that, and what really freaked me out was when she was crawling up upside down and backwards down the stairs — kind of like the spider.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Mimicking goggles with his hands turned upside down, the toast of the Tartan Army is raising awareness for his nephew Jack, who needs goggles to play football because of his poor eyesight.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
His clientele has flipped upside down, from some of the most refined people in the New York area to some of the seediest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
He froze, because that’s what you do when the universe turns upside down.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
