upside down
Americanadverb
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with the upper part undermost.
-
in or into complete disorder; topsy-turvy.
The burglars turned the house upside down.
adjective
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(usually postpositive; upside-down when prenominal) turned over completely; inverted
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informal (upside-down when prenominal) confused; muddled; topsy-turvy
an upside-down world
adverb
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in an inverted fashion
-
in a chaotic or crazy manner
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of upside down
1300–50; re-formation ( see upside) of Middle English upsedoun, earlier up so doun ( see up, so 1, down 1; sense of so obscure)
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.
“I saw part of that, and what really freaked me out was when she was crawling up upside down and backwards down the stairs — kind of like the spider.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026
Also percussive yet much quieter is Anri Sala’s snare drum, dangling upside down from the ceiling at Esther Schipper.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
The court heard that the defendants "life has been turned upside down".
From BBC • May 13, 2026
So far this year, the Iran war has turned OPEC’s usual production problem upside down.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
He went to Anastasia's room and turned the wastebasket upside down so that he could stand on it and reach her goldfish bowl.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
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.
