overturn
Americanverb (used with object)
-
overturns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overturned,
past participle, past
-
overturning
present participle
-
to cause (something) to turn onto its side, face, or back; upset.
to overturn a vase.
-
to destroy the power or validity of; overthrow; defeat: The new findings have not overturned the theory itself.
The conspiracy finally overturned the regime.
The new findings have not overturned the theory itself.
- Synonyms:
- conquer
-
to reverse (an official or legal decision).
Rather than accept defeat, the company filed a complaint in federal appeals court to overturn the ruling.
verb (used without object)
-
overturns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overturned,
past participle, past
-
overturning
present participle
noun
-
the act of overturning.
-
the state of being overturned.
verb
-
to turn or cause to turn from an upright or normal position
-
(tr) to overthrow or destroy
-
(tr) to invalidate; reverse
the bill was passed in the Commons but overturned in the Lords
noun
Synonym Usage
See upset.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overturnsimple
-
overturnssimple
-
have overturnedperfect
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has overturnedperfect
-
am overturningprogressive
-
are overturningprogressive
-
is overturningprogressive
-
have been overturningperfect progressive
-
has been overturningperfect progressive
Past
-
overturnedsimple
-
had overturnedperfect
-
was overturningprogressive
-
were overturningprogressive
-
had been overturningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overturn
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; see origin at over-, turn
Explanation
To overturn something is to either flip it upside down or to invalidate it. An amateur kayaker might overturn her boat, while a judge may decide to overturn a previous judgment. When you overturn a wheelbarrow or a tricycle, you literally turn it over. When judges overturn earlier rulings or voters overturn laws, they make them invalid, essentially reversing them. An earlier, more intense metaphorical meaning of this word was "violently overthrow a ruler or rulers." Overturn was originally used in the 13th century to describe a turning wheel.
Vocabulary lists containing overturn
Ban This Book
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This Week In Words: December 5–11, 2020
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5th Grade Government Vocabulary, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
“Measure EE seeks to make the ballot box powers equal to either overturn or to adopt legislation,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Former supermodel Naomi Campbell won a legal challenge on Thursday to overturn a five-year ban on being a charity trustee after a panel accepted she had been the victim of deception.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Cue the CRA, which lets lawmakers overturn a regulation with a simple majority vote of both chambers and the President’s signature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
He helped City overturn their two-year European ban in 2020.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Why bother to overturn your parents’ world when you can buy it and sell off the pieces?
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Carnegie Mellon University researchers have identified an unusual magnetic response that overturns a long-standing assumption about the Hall effect, a foundational principle used to study how materials behave electrically and magnetically.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
The Federal Supreme Court therefore partially overturns the contested award and refers the case back to the CAS for a new ruling, taking into account the probative value of the audio-visual recording in question.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026
But total overturns have also dropped from 57 in 2024-25 to 47 this season - a fall of 17.54%.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2026
The decision overturns the seizure of Nexperia by Karremans’ ministry from its Chinese owner, Wingtech Technology, late in September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
Imagine the difficulty of listening to, and then accepting, a truth that overturns everything you believe about the world.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
When a call is overturned, Baseball Savant measures the difference in run expectancy between the situation before the pitch/challenge and the situation after the call is flipped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Microsoft initially lost, with a federal judge ordering the company to be broken in two, though that order was later overturned on appeal and the case was ultimately settled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The row re-emerged last month after a court case in which a ruling by the Parades Commission was overturned, and a fresh application was lodged.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
But shortly before midnight, a three-judge Court of Appeal panel overturned the injunction, ruling that the judge had "erred in law".
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Through what Kaz now understood had been an observation window, he saw another city guard standing in front of an empty table and two overturned chairs.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Together, the evidence from several ocean basins connected movements of the Southern Ocean front with changes in Atlantic temperature layers and overturning circulation.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
The appeals court did not rule on the ultimate merits of the case but concluded the administration had not shown it was likely to succeed in overturning the injunction at this stage.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Together, those processes can make the water heavy enough to sink into the deep ocean, helping to drive the AMOC's overturning flow.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The Interior Department finalized the changes to its regulations last week, overturning five decades of precedent in how the law is interpreted.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
He sucked in his breath and tried again, and then he bolted up, overturning his chair, turned his back to me, and started to walk out.
From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
