upend

verb

up·​end ˌəp-ˈend 

upended; upending; upends

transitive verb

1

: to set or stand on end

also : overturn sense 1

upended the bucket to use as a stool

2

a

: to affect to the point of being upset or flurried

… a … literary shocker, designed to upend the credulous matrons …

—Wolcott Gibbs

b

: defeat, beat

intransitive verb

: to rise on an end

Synonyms of upend

• defeat
• overcome
• master
• take
• beat
• worst
• conquer
• get
• best
• stop

Examples of upend in a Sentence

He upended the bicycle to fix its flat tire.

I upended the bucket to use as a stool.

The security inspector upended my bag and dumped everything out.

A giant wave upended the surfers.

The midfielder was upended before he got the ball.

Recent Examples on the Web

The stoppage actually did very little to upend Leeds’ resurgence. —Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025

Kahlo vibrantly and unsparingly depicted herself and events from her life, which was upended by a bus accident at 18. —Arkansas Online, 30 Nov. 2025

In the French comedy thriller, which world premiered at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, Foster plays a Parisian psychiatrist whose life is upended by the death of one of her patients. —Ellise Shafer, Variety, 29 Nov. 2025

The only thing that might have stopped us from accepting this kind of corruption as thinkable would be if such acceptance upended our overall understanding of how constitutional democracy functions. —Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 28 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for upend

• amend
• append
• ascend
• attend
• backend
• befriend
• boyfriend
• commend
• compend
• contend
• defend
• depend

Kids Definition

upend

verb

up·​end ˌə-ˈpend 

: to set, stand, or rise on end