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

Its stock has been under pressure because of worries that competitors powered by artificial intelligence technology could upend its industry and take away customers. —Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026

The idea that white-collar work could be upended is a resurgence of a sentiment shared widely during early 2025, when executives made similar doom-and-gloom forecasts. —Jake Angelo, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2026

Few industries are set to be as upended by AI as the spreadsheet-wrangling, PowerPoint presentation-polishing work done by Wall Street’s youngest bankers. —Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 19 Feb. 2026

This new attack on Grand Staircase-Escalante from Congress–along with a parallel attack on Minnesota’s Boundary Waters—would set a national precedent with no public input that could upend public lands protection for years. —Stephen Trimble, Denver Post, 18 Feb. 2026

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