upside down

adverb

up·​side down ˈəp-ˌsīd-ˈdau̇n 

1

: in such a way that the upper and the lower parts are reversed in position

2

: in or into great disorder

turned their world upside down

upside-down

ˈəp-ˌsīd-ˈdau̇n 

adjective

Examples of upside down in a Sentence

You hung the picture upside down!

To remove the plant, turn the pot upside down and tap gently on the bottom to loosen it.

The baby was holding the book upside down.

Recent Examples on the Web

However, their shindig is turned upside down with the appearance of Irish vampire Remmick (Jack O’Connell) who attacks the partygoers, turning them into new bloodsuckers and adding to his army. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025

Isabelle Huppert stars as Erika, the titular piano teacher, who starts up an affair with one of her students and then watches her life turn upside down. —Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025

The ferris wheel is shown upside down and lit up in neon colors in support of the film. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 18 Apr. 2025

This past January, the tech world was turned upside down: A new AI model that matched the performance of OpenAI’s o1 model at a fraction of the cost caught the world’s attention. —Gary Drenik, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of Middle English up so doun, from up + so + doun down

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for upside down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Kids Definition

upside down

adverb

up·​side down ˌəp-ˌsīd-ˈdau̇n 

1

: with the upper part underneath and the lower part on top

2

: in or into great disorder

upside-down adjective

Legal Definition

upside down

adjective

: underwater

upside down mortgages

upside down homes

upside down homeowners