upside down

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See synonyms for: upside down / upsidedown on Thesaurus.com

adverb

with the upper part undermost.

in or into complete disorder; topsy-turvy: The burglars turned the house upside down.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of upside down

1300–50; re-formation (see upside) of Middle English upsedoun, earlier up so doun (see up, so¹, down¹; sense of so obscure)

OTHER WORDS FROM upside down

upside-down, adjectiveupside-downness, noun

Words nearby upside down

upsetting lever, upsetting moment, upshift, upshot, upside, upside down, upside-down cake, upsides, upside the head, upsilon, upsilon particle

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

How to use upside down in a sentence

Like all fowl, turkeys tend to go quiet when held upside down.
Confessions of a Turkey Killer|Tom Sykes|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I jumped over a few cars, almost turned it upside down in a pond and came out on top of all four tires,” she wrote in an email.
The Moms of Monster Jam Drive Trucks, Buck Macho Culture|Eliza Krigman|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Viewed in profile, they are upside-down mid-section silhouettes of Pippa Middleton leaning over to check your oil.
Up to a Point: A 'Space Corvette' in Every Garage|P. J. O’Rourke|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Before they go to bed, they turn a cup upside down, to show they have no expectations for tomorrow and always gratitude.
Pierce Brosnan’s Life After Bond: From Action Hero to Losing His Daughter to Cancer|Tim Teeman|July 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“These people act like we drink a gallon of blood and hang upside down from crucifixes before we go onstage,” Rob Halford says.
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial|Ivan Solotaroff|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their heads might have been turned upside-down, so absolutely did they tread upon blue ether.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
He drew forth as he spoke the letter in the queen's own hand, turned it upside down, and so presented it to her.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
Nance Watling has been turning everything upside down at the Heath Farm.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
The pedal pipes are put upside down so that their open ends may be toward the music room.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
He hath shut up my ways with square stones, he hath turned my paths upside down.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

British Dictionary definitions for upside down

upside down

adjective

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

(upside-down when prenominal) informal confused; muddled; topsy-turvyan upside-down world

adverb

in an inverted fashion

in a chaotic or crazy manner

Derived forms of upside down

upside-downness, noun

Word Origin for upside down

C16: variant, by folk etymology, of earlier upsodown

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

upside down

Origin of upside down

OTHER WORDS FROM upside down

Words nearby upside down

Words related to upside down

How to use upside down in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for upside down

Derived forms of upside down

Word Origin for upside down