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Synonyms

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]

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.

“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

If you’ve been around for enough Earth spins, you’ve seen the world turn upside down — especially concerning Californian’s attitude on oil production.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2021

And then the jungle began to turn upside down.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

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.