Meaning & use
turn something upside down
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Meanings
phrasetransitive
To make something face the opposite direction, so the top becomes the bottom.
Grammar: Takes an object: turn the box upside down. The object can go between 'turn' and 'upside down' or after the whole phrase.
Patterns
- turn something upside down
- turn upside down something
He turned the empty cup upside down to show there was nothing in it.
Turn the cake upside down so the smooth side is on top.
She turned the map upside down to read the place names.
phrasetransitivefigurative
To search a place very thoroughly, making it untidy.
Grammar: Often used with 'looking for': they turned the house upside down looking for the keys.
Patterns
- turn a place upside down
- turn something upside down looking for something
We turned the whole house upside down looking for the passport.
The police turned the office upside down in their search for evidence.
I turned my bag upside down but still couldn't find my phone.
phrasetransitivefigurative
To change something completely, often causing confusion or disorder.
Grammar: Used about plans, lives, systems: the news turned our plans upside down.
Patterns
- turn something upside down
- turn someone's life upside down
The new law turned the company's plans upside down.
Losing his job turned their lives upside down.
The pandemic turned the travel industry upside down.
Common combinations
- turn the room upside down
- They turned the room upside down looking for the missing ring.
- turn something upside down
- Turn the bottle upside down and shake it.
- turn someone's life upside down
- The accident turned her life upside down.
- turn the place upside down
- We turned the place upside down but found nothing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- invert
- A more formal word meaning to turn something upside down or reverse its position.
- upend
- Similar but slightly more formal; often used for physical turning.
- ransack
- Means to search a place in a rough, untidy way; it does not mean to physically turn something over.
Opposites
Word family
- upside down adverb
- In a position with the top at the bottom.
- upside-down adjective
- Having the top at the bottom; also used figuratively.
Commonly confused: turn something upside down or upside down?
turn something upside down vs upside down
As an adverb or adjective, it describes a position; the phrase 'turn something upside down' adds the action of making it that way.
Practice
We ______ the whole apartment upside down looking for the keys.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is 'turn something upside down'. 'Took', 'put', and 'made' do not combine with 'upside down' in this idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “turn something upside down”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.