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

After Felix invites him to his family’s palatial country house over summer break, Oliver weasels his way into their good graces and turns their world upside down. —Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 6 June 2026

The injury — raw, oozing, angry — had turned our lives upside down, but it was rendered invisible in the institutional review. —Nisha Narayanan, STAT, 5 June 2026

Humongous cargo shorts dangle upside down and dominate another area. —Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026

InIn episode one of Where the River Took Us — a new podcast that comes after Parsley's Pulitzer Prize-winning account of his family's story — the senior editor at Texas Monthly and former PEOPLE staffer, takes listeners into the moments before his world flipped upside down. —Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 4 June 2026

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