upside down

adverb

1. with the upper part undermost.

2. in or into complete disorder; topsy-turvy.

   The burglars turned the house upside down.

upside down

adjective

1. (usually postpositive; upside-down when prenominal) turned over completely; inverted

2. informal,  (upside-down when prenominal) confused; muddled; topsy-turvy

   an upside-down world

adverb

1. in an inverted fashion

2. in a chaotic or crazy manner

Other Word Forms

• upside-down adjective
• upside-downness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of upside down¹

1300–50; re-formation ( upside ) of Middle English upsedoun, earlier up so doun ( up, so ¹, down ¹; sense of so obscure)

Word History and Origins

Origin of upside down¹

C16: variant, by folk etymology, of earlier upsodown

Example Sentences

Nearby, a series of military helmets hanging upside down from the ceiling at various levels contains small blue puzzle pieces representing a piece of the sky.

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They also measured how quickly the turtles could right themselves when flipped upside down in water, which served as a simple indicator of physical condition.

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Lamia’s life is turned upside down as she faces one obstacle after another to bake the cake.

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"I would walk to the end of the earth, backwards, forwards, upside down, barefoot, to make sure my kids have a better future," says Ricky.

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But with their lives turned upside down and most of their possessions now out of reach, back in the camp, it's been a hard year.

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