capsize

American  

[kap-sahyz, kap-sahyz] / ˈkæp saɪz, kæpˈsaɪz /

verb (used with or without object)

• capsizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• capsized,
  past participle,  past
• capsizing
  present participle

1. to turn bottom up; overturn: With a strong kick he capsized the stool.

   The ferry capsized and sank in minutes.

   With a strong kick he capsized the stool.

2. to upset or collapse: He has a secret that could capsize his career.

   Their marriage almost capsized when they lost their only child.

   He has a secret that could capsize his career.

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capsize British  

/ kæpˈsaɪz /

verb

1. to overturn accidentally; upset

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Synonym Usage

See upset.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• capsizal
  noun
• capsizable
  adjective
• noncapsizable
  adjective
• uncapsizable
  adjective
• uncapsized
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• capsizing
  present
• capsized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• capsize
  simple
• capsizes
  simple
• have capsized
  perfect
• has capsized
  perfect
• am capsizing
  progressive
• are capsizing
  progressive
• is capsizing
  progressive
• have been capsizing
  perfect progressive
• has been capsizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• capsized
  simple
• had capsized
  perfect
• was capsizing
  progressive
• were capsizing
  progressive
• had been capsizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will capsize
  simple
• will have capsized
  perfect
• will be capsizing
  progressive
• will have been capsizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of capsize

First recorded in 1780–90; origin uncertain

Explanation

To capsize is to overturn, and it usually happens to boats. Don't rock the boat, baby, or you might just capsize. When a boat tips over in a lake, it capsizes, and so does a boy who is sitting on an inner tube when it flips suddenly. Anything overturning in a body of water can be said to capsize. Sometimes vessels that capsize can be righted, like a canoe, and other times they sink to the bottom of the sea. The origin of capsize is uncertain, though it may be related to the Spanish word capuzar, "sink by the head."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

capsize capsizes capsized capsizing

When these icebergs capsize, they clash violently with the “mother” glacier.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

Their crews are at risk if the ships are damaged, and the vessels could capsize if they are in the vicinity of giant ice chunks breaking off glaciers, a process called calving.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

He also said that the maximum capacities of passenger boats should be clearly indicated to avoid overloading, which is often one of the causes when boats capsize.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

The dangerous sea conditions could capsize or damage both small and large vessels, the weather service warned.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

There’s a lot of shouting, and the pirogues nearly capsize multiple times in the process.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

In riverine communities, whereas a high proportion of men often know how to swim, few women do, meaning they are particularly at risk if a boat capsizes.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Until that date is set we can only quote what Helly tells Mark S. before he turns on himself and capsizes our expectations.

From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2025

The American boat had a number of capsizes and crashes, including one in which wing trimmer Paul Campbell-James broke a leg.

From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2022

In the film’s fablelike opening montage, we see a Sudanese couple, Bol and Rial, escape their homeland in an overflowing raft; as their boat capsizes in a storm, they lose their daughter.

From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2021

Shop signs swing toward the heat from their brackets; a potted hedge comes sliding across the rubble and capsizes.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

One man was killed and two people were hospitalized after their fishing boat struck rocks and capsized beneath the Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday, according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

A 15-year-old boy has been rescued after spending days sitting atop a boat that had capsized in the frigid waters of Alaska's Bering Sea.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Rescuers were on Monday still hunting for survivors a day after a ferry capsized off Northern Cyprus, leaving eight dead and more than a dozen missing, authorities said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

The captain of an overloaded boat that capsized in New York Harbor earlier this month, killing a woman and her 5-month-old infant, has been arrested by federal authorities and faces deportation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The seventh, where Ashoke was sitting, capsized as well, flung by the speed of the crash farther into the field.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

The rip currents and massive surf are capable of capsizing small boats, knocking people off jetties and pulling swimmers out to sea.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

However, these were consistently located 60–80 kilometres from the waterfront, so they are not likely to have been caused by capsizing icebergs.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

Abdoul Aziz Balde sobbed as he spoke of his son Idrissa, who left Guinea in search of a better future, but has not been heard from since capsizing off the Moroccan coast.

From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025

Before the U.S. military strikes, he said, his main concerns were capsizing, drowning and arrest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

The boy in the number four seat panicked and threw himself awkwardly overboard, nearly capsizing the shell.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown