upside down
adjective
- orientation: the intrinsic top of the object points downward in some framework
adverb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L203306 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˌʌpsaɪd ˈdaʊn/ / /ˌʌpsaɪˈdaʊn/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English up sid doun, an alteration of earlier upsadowne, upsedowne, up-so-doun (“upside down”), equivalent to up + so + down, literally “up as down”.
- Inverted; turned so that the top is at the bottom.
“The pattern resembled an upside down letter W.”
- In great disorder.
“The wenches and the men have been on the streets all day, and the kitchen is upside down. You never saw the like.”
- Owing more money for something than it is worth; having negative equity.
“He's upside down on his mortgage.”
- Australian.
adv
Etymology: From Middle English up sid doun, an alteration of earlier upsadowne, upsedowne, up-so-doun (“upside down”), equivalent to up + so + down, literally “up as down”.
- Inverted, so that the top is now at the bottom.
“The Union flag was flying upside down, a sign of danger.”
“His hands were busy with his garments all this time: turning them inside out, putting them on upside down, tearing them, mislaying them, making them parties to every kind of extravagance.”
- In great disorder.
“The thief had turned the room upside down.”
“Peaſe and beanes are as danke here as a dog and that is the next way to giue poore iades the bots: this houſe is turned vpſide downe ſince Robin Oſtler died.”
name
Etymology: From Middle English up sid doun, an alteration of earlier upsadowne, upsedowne, up-so-doun (“upside down”), equivalent to up + so + down, literally “up as down”.
- Alternative letter-case form of Upside Down.
“It is in the upside down where we can find many opportunities to grow and learn.”
“it asks courts to step into the reality educators face: the reality of teaching in the upside down.”