upend

[ uhp-end ]

/ ʌpˈɛnd /

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See synonyms for: upend / upended on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to set on end, as a barrel or ship.

to affect drastically or radically, as tastes, opinions, reputations, or systems.

to defeat in competition, as in boxing or business.

verb (used without object)

to become upended.

to place the body back-end up, as a dabbling duck.

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Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of upend

First recorded in 1815–25; up- + end¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use upend in a sentence

He did, however, say that “a lot of faculty are overreacting these days,” requiring students, for instance, to take tests only in highly controlled areas even though the pandemic has upended their life.
Cheating-detection companies made millions during the pandemic. Now students are fighting back.|Drew Harwell|November 12, 2020|Washington Post
So while everyone obviously understands the show’s desire to focus on the music, it was still jarring to see the mostly maskless indoor ceremony, with only a few references to the pandemic that has upended everyone’s lives.
CMA Awards 2020: Complete list of winners, best and worst moments|Emily Yahr|November 12, 2020|Washington Post
ESPN announces hundreds of layoffs as pandemic, cord-cutting upend sports television
The Masters in 2020 will be unlike any other. Here’s what you need to know.|Matt Bonesteel|November 9, 2020|Washington Post
Barton said McDaniel’s claim was a “gut punch” given how physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted her staff of seven was after administering an election upended by the coronavirus pandemic and new statewide voting requirements.
‘We will not allow anyone to stop us’: Day and night, under historic scrutiny, the nation’s vote counters carried on|Amy Gardner, Reis Thebault, Hannah Knowles, Michelle Lee|November 9, 2020|Washington Post

They are navigating jobs upended by a pandemic, the economic downturn, social unrest, wildfires, plummeting requests for rides and surging demands for delivery.
California voters sided with Uber, denying drivers benefits by classifying them as contractors|Faiz Siddiqui, Nitasha Tiku|November 4, 2020|Washington Post
When Herzog appeared in 1964, it upended our ideas about what novels could accomplish.
American Dreams: Saul Bellow’s Masterpiece of Lamentation|Nathaniel Rich|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It upended the normal social order, but over the course of the Summer Project, the new social order held.
The 1964 Miss. Freedom Summer Protests Won Progress At a Bloody Price|Nicolaus Mills|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Last week, outgoing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a war hawk, was upended in a surprise primary loss.
Obama Is the New Dubya|Lloyd Green|June 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then, in 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court upended two centuries of precedent.
The True Meaning of the Second Amendment|Malcolm Jones|May 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was the electric young upstart who upended her inevitable path to the White House in Iowa.
Ready for Hillary Super PAC Throws In for 2014 Midterms|David Freedlander|March 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Father Paul chose a block of wood from the pile beside the stove, upended it, and seated himself.
Rescue Dog of the High Pass|James Arthur Kjelgaard
She upended herself again, and the chair, altho it wabbled distractingly, did not cast her off.
The Incubator Baby|Ellis Parker Butler
He took off his coat, hung it on the back of a chair, upended his hat and sat down with a tired smile.
Whispering Wires|Henry Leverage
With one stroke of the pick I upended several more yellow bars.
The Pirate of Panama|William MacLeod Raine
Too high for me to reach, I presently found a large box which I upended cautiously until it lay beneath the port.
The Pirate of Panama|William MacLeod Raine

British Dictionary definitions for upend

upend

/ (ʌpˈɛnd) /

verb

to turn or set or become turned or set on end

(tr) to affect or upset drastically

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

upend

Origin of upend

Words related to upend

How to use upend in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for upend