turn upside down

Idioms  

1. Put in disorder, mix or mess up, as in He turned the whole house upside down looking for his checkbook. This metaphoric phrase transfers literally inverting something so that the upper part becomes the lower (or vice versa) to throwing into disorder or confusion. [First half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

“In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason,” the business posted online, saying “great people in this community” were lost.

From Washington Times • Oct. 26, 2023

"In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason," Schemengees posted on its Facebook page.

From Reuters • Oct. 26, 2023

Outside, she could see their car submerged, and then turn upside down, with only the round edge of the tires visible above the rising water.

From Washington Post • Sep. 30, 2022

Papi and Chloe’s lives turn upside down when they have a litter of puppies.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2020

The ship was trying to turn upside down, kept from capsizing only by the strength of its masts where they tangled in the Teeth.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

Related Words

• check
• comb
• examine
• explore
• go through
• hunt
• hunt for
• inspect
• investigate
• look
• probe
• ransack
• scan
• scour
• scout
• scrutinize
• seek
• sift