upend

Upend is a verb that means to cause something to be turned upside down or overturned. It can also be used figuratively to describe disrupting or reversing a situation, plan, or system. The term conveys a sense of strong disruption or displacement, whether applied to physical objects or abstract arrangements.

As a transitive verb, upend takes a direct object. Examples include: "The storm upended the boat," "The new policy upends the existing rules." In passive construction, it appears as: "The boat was upended by a wave." The word forms include upending (present participle) and upended (past tense and past participle). It is rarely used intransitively.

Etymology and usage notes: upend is formed from the prefix up- and the noun end, originally describing turning something so its end is upward. Over time, its sense broadened to include overturning objects and disrupting plans, traditions, or arrangements. Common contexts range from physical actions (boats, carts, tables) to figurative uses (policies, markets, expectations). In many cases, upend implies a decisive shift that alters the current state, sometimes with a sense of upheaval or dramatic change.