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upend

[ uhp-end ]

/ ʌpˈɛnd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR upend ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to set on end, as a barrel or ship.

to affect drastically or radically, as tastes, opinions, reputations, or systems.

to defeat in competition, as in boxing or business.

verb (used without object)

to become upended.

to place the body back-end up, as a dabbling duck.

Origin of upend

First recorded in 1815–25; up- + end¹

Words nearby upend

updike, updo, updraft, updraught, updrift, upend, upf, upfold, upfront, upgather, upgrade

Example sentences from the Web for upended

When Herzog appeared in 1964, it upended our ideas about what novels could accomplish.

American Dreams: Saul Bellow’s Masterpiece of Lamentation |Nathaniel Rich |July 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It upended the normal social order, but over the course of the Summer Project, the new social order held.

The 1964 Miss. Freedom Summer Protests Won Progress At a Bloody Price |Nicolaus Mills |June 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Last week, outgoing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a war hawk, was upended in a surprise primary loss.

Obama Is the New Dubya |Lloyd Green |June 17, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Then, in 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court upended two centuries of precedent.

The True Meaning of the Second Amendment |Malcolm Jones |May 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

The corporate media has been upended, at long last…by the authoritarian media.

Great and Fake: The Wild Absurdity Of Iranian And Russian State Media |Michael Moynihan |January 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A nose orifice, with two protruding brown eyes above it was set outward on stems, and an upended slit of a mouth.

Wandl the Invader |Raymond King Cummings
Then we sat on our blankets, our moccasins steaming on upended sticks before the fire, and had our evening smoke.

Lost Face |Jack London
With a sudden gesture, he upended it, dumping its contents on the flat, wooden surface of the table.

Despoilers of the Golden Empire |Gordon Randall Garrett
Too high for me to reach, I presently found a large box which I upended cautiously until it lay beneath the port.

The Pirate of Panama |William MacLeod Raine
At last the seemingly interminable forest ended and the girl sank wearily down on an upended suitcase.

Twelve Times Zero |Howard Carleton Browne

British Dictionary definitions for upended

upend

/ (ʌpˈɛnd) /

verb

to turn or set or become turned or set on end

(tr) to affect or upset drastically