upside down

adverb

1. with the upper part undermost.
2. in or into complete disorder; topsy-turvy:

   The burglars turned the house upside down.

upside down

adjective

1. usually postpositive; upside-down when prenominal turned over completely; inverted
2. informal.
   upside-down when prenominal confused; muddled; topsy-turvy

   an upside-down world

adverb

1. in an inverted fashion
2. in a chaotic or crazy manner

Derived Forms

• ˌupside-ˈdownness, noun

Other Words From

• upside-down adjective
• upside-downness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of upside down¹

1300–50; re-formation ( upside ) of Middle English upsedoun, earlier up so doun ( up, so ¹, down ¹; sense of so obscure)

Word History and Origins

Origin of upside down¹

C16: variant, by folk etymology, of earlier upsodown

Example Sentences

Now they just need to fight the urge to turn everything upside down with a shiny new toy.

From Los Angeles Times

Add to this the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority, which has already shown itself willing to turn the Constitution upside down to serve the interests of the president-elect.

From Salon

"This is a very serious problem, and it can potentially get worse. All the traditional ideas of good and evil are being turned upside down," he told the BBC.

From BBC

Miranda understands how reporting abuse can “turn lives upside down” and why people may find it easier to ignore what they are being told.

From BBC

Your life is turned upside down with one sentence.

From BBC