capsize
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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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.
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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.
verb
Synonym Usage
See upset.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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uncapsizedadjective
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noncapsizableadjective
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capsizableadjective
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capsizalnoun
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uncapsizableadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has capsizedperfect 3rd person singular
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have capsizedperfect
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have been capsizingperfect progressive
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is capsizingprogressive 3rd person singular
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capsizessingular 3rd person
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capsizingparticiple
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are capsizingprogressive
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am capsizingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been capsizingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had capsizedperfect
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was capsizingprogressive singular
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were capsizingprogressive plural
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capsizedparticiple
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capsizedsimple
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had been capsizingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing capsize
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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.
But survivors then told the BBC that coastguards had caused the migrant boat to capsize following a botched attempt to tow it.
From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026
“The supply shocks from either would already rock the boat; both together would capsize global markets like a perfect storm,” said Raj.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 12, 2026
In the high north, they pose an additional threat: Sea spray carried at high wind speeds can freeze upon contact with a ship and, if allowed to build up, capsize it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025
"My father, an uncle and I came before the rest of the family by sea. The small ship was overloaded and very unstable. All the time we feared the vessel might capsize."
From Barron's • Oct. 13, 2025
But though the dory rocked back and forth with the swell of them, the whales never came so close that the boat might capsize.
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
