upend

verb

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up·end | \ ˌəp-ˈend

upended; upending; upends

Definition of upend

transitive verb

1 : to set or stand on end also : overturn sense 1

2a : 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 & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About upend

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 History says there's time for other developments to upend the midterms before November. — Susan Page, USA TODAY, 8 May 2022 At a rally Tuesday in the town of Rutledge, near the future factory site, opponents worried the new plant would upend the rural community, spawn more traffic and lead to a labor crunch. — Greg Bluestein, ajc, 3 May 2022 Neil draws the ire of social media influencer Titi B and tries to make amends before her followers upend his life. — Washington Post, 3 May 2022 Taken together, these three shows reflect artistic investigations of identity and self, and upend our notions of art history and contemporary art today. — Tom Teicholz, Forbes, 1 May 2022 This decision by Tennessee will be a fascinating experiment to see unfold, and could upend the current economics of the NFL. — Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Apr. 2022 Their aim is to crack down on the widespread practice sometimes termed wage theft and upend the historic lack of consequences for employers who deny employees pay. — oregonlive, 29 Apr. 2022 Prospective hires have expressed skepticism about Mr. Musk’s plans to transform Twitter and upend its content moderation, those documents said. — New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 And that shows just how much Trump has helped distort and upend the Republican Party's sense of right and wrong. — Joel Mathis, The Week, 22 Apr. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'upend.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.