upheave
Americanverb (used with object)
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to heave or lift up; raise up or aloft.
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to force or throw up violently or with much power, as an erupting volcano.
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to cause a major disturbance or disorder in.
The revolution upheaved the government, causing its leaders to flee the country.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to heave or rise upwards
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geology to thrust (land) upwards or (of land) to be thrust upwards
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(tr) to disturb violently; throw into disorder
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of upheave
First recorded in 1250–1300, upheave is from the Middle English word upheven. See up-, heave
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.
It is I who must find this treasure, this fulcrum to the lever which is going to upheave France.
From A Splendid Hazard by MacGrath, Harold
Every upheave seemed to be followed by a downward settling plunge, as though the ship were already on her way to the bottom.
From A Veldt Vendetta by Mitford, Bertram
And give it only the fulcrum of Plymouth Rock an idea will upheave the continent.
From The American Union Speaker by Philbrick, John D. (John Dudley)
Then during the night they upheave their backs to relieve themselves of the pressure, and thus shake the walling to a fall.”’
From The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by Wentz, W. Y. Evans
Brown rocks, left bare by the receding tide, upheave their slippery backs, heavily festooned with seaweed, and the broad level sands lie wet and glistening in the sun.
From Dorrien of Cranston by Mitford, Bertram
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.
