How to Use upend in a Sentence

upend

verb
  • I upended the bucket to use as a stool.
  • A giant wave upended the surfers.
  • He upended the bicycle to fix its flat tire.
  • The midfielder was upended before he got the ball.
  • The security inspector upended my bag and dumped everything out.
  • And yet, their lives have all been upended.
    — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2026
  • That could upend the plans of many who have already booked their trips.
    — Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 8 May 2026
  • Lisa Thomas was among those whose lives were upended.
    — Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, Charlotte Observer, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Training for a run like that would take months and upend normal life.
    — Christopher Solomon, Outside Online, 16 May 2022
  • Banksy's own body of work speaks to a desire to upend the status quo.
    — Leah Dolan, CNN, 4 May 2021
  • With her life’s work upended, staying in the state made less sense.
    — Jessica Goodman, Architectural Digest, 12 Jan. 2026
  • That’s not the only precedent the court could upend.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Bonta’s new rules would upend the cardroom games.
    — Pat Maio, Oc Register, 11 Mar. 2026
  • On top of all that, a force of nature is threatening to upend their lives.
    — Jen Yamato, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2024
  • But there was a paper that came out a few years ago that upended the thinking on this.
    — Margaret Cirino, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
  • There was no chance that a child's quarantine would upend work schedules.
    — NBC News, 21 Dec. 2020
  • The shift to streaming platforms has upended all of that.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026
  • The Ukraine War upended the process.
    — Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Sudden news may upend your schedule.
    — Usa Today, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
  • And for good measure, there’s one watch-out that could upend all of that co-branded training.
    — Bryan Pearson, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2021
  • Man-su is let go by new owners, and his comfortable life is upended.
    — Carole Horst, Variety, 12 Jan. 2026
  • This said, don’t upend your longest-term dreams and objectives.
    — Magi Helena, Dallas Morning News, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Still, the high cost of child care has upended the careers of even those with college degrees.
    — Moriah Balingit, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024
  • Anthropic unveiled new tools that could upend the way people do work.
    — Auzinea Bacon, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026
  • The show insists on showing how the marginalized upend the neat stories we’ve been fed.
    — Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
  • For decades, startups have tried and failed to upend how Americans buy and sell homes.
    — Ilona Limonta-Volkova, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
  • In the meantime, the collapse of tourism has upended the livelihood of many.
    — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
  • Losing a job can upend routines, confidence, and long-term plans all at once.
    — Tiffany Aliche, SELF, 23 Feb. 2026
  • This isn’t even the first time knowledge has upended the entire universe.
    — Philip Maymin, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • What’s the next move for the right-wing Supremes in their attempts to upend everything?
    — Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 12 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'upend.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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