upturn

[ verb uhp-turn, uhp-turn; noun uhp-turn ]

See synonyms for: upturn upturned upturning on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to turn up or over: The farmer upturned clumps of sod with his spade.
to cause disorder; upheave: The storm upturned the town.

to direct or turn upward: She upturned her face toward heaven and prayed.

verb (used without object)

to turn up or upward: Her eyes upturned to see his face.

noun

chaos or extreme disorder, as in society; an upheaval.
an upward turn, or a changing and rising movement, as in prices or business.

Origin of upturn

1300–50; Middle English: to overturn; see up-, turn

Words Nearby upturn

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

How to use upturn in a sentence

Because New York City was seeing an upturn in cases and hospitalizations at the time, Mayor Eric Adams was criticized this summer for discontinuing the color-coded warning system for virus transmission.
This Is the Phase of the Pandemic Where Life Returns To Normal | Steven Phillips | August 3, 2022 | Time
upturn found that in addition to these instances, the technology is also used for minor crimes such as marijuana possession or vandalism.
America’s High-Tech Surveillance Could Track Abortion-Seekers, Too, Activists Warn | Rebecca Chowdhury | June 6, 2022 | Time
But, 2021 saw some dramatic upturns in the prices of natural gas.
Coal and transportation fueled a surge in US carbon emissions last year | Sara Kiley Watson | January 10, 2022 | Popular-Science
More than 560,000 Americans have died of covid-19, and the country has seen an upturn in infections in the past week.
U.S. to spend $1.7 billion on fighting variants | Tyler Pager | April 16, 2021 | Washington Post
The upturn has alarmed policymakers just as students return to school and offices try to bring back employees who have been working from home.
Europe overtakes U.S. as COVID-19 hotspot as infections surge | kdunn6 | September 10, 2020 | Fortune

If your 11-year-old mocks you by making a cawing voice, upturn his dinner plate and mock his mocking voice.
It’s Not Just the Vaccines. Jenny McCarthy’s New Book Offers More ‘Lessons’ | Tim Teeman | April 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But those most dramatically affected by the “amazing” upturn are people who write comic novels and blog for The Daily Beast.
Click Here For Good News! | Christopher Buckley | March 8, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
He was just in time to catch the quick upturn of a passing face.
The Courage of Marge O'Doone | James Oliver Curwood
In the void Glancing, his tail upturn'd its venomous fork, With sting like scorpion's arm'd.
The Vision of Hell, Complete | Dante Alighieri
Straightway the winds upturn the main, and great seas rise; we are tossed asunder over the dreary gulf.
The Aeneid of Virgil | Virgil
This was about twenty feet long, and ended in a little upturn so that a sled would shoot up with a jerk and come down with a bang.
The Curlytops and Their Playmates | Howard R. Garis
There a slant upturn of tight-drawn lids revealed the quintessence of priestly cruelty.
The Mystery of The Barranca | Herman Whitaker

British Dictionary definitions for upturn

upturn

verb(ʌpˈtɜːn)

to turn or cause to turn up, over, or upside down
(tr) to create disorder

(tr) to direct upwards

noun(ˈʌpˌtɜːn)

an upward turn, trend, or improvement
an upheaval or commotion

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

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