upending

verb

present participle of upend
1
as in defeating
to achieve a victory over the team won the division play-offs, but was upended in the final championship game

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in erecting
to fix in an upright position we had to upend the sofa in order to fit it into the elevator

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of upending Baseball has a way of upending logical assumptions. — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 24 June 2026 Russia suspended jet fuel exports, further upending trade in a product already hugely affected by the Iran war. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 2 June 2026 Forces — some visible, some harder to see — are upending literature and education itself. — Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 In the first movie, Woody has to overcome his fear that Buzz will replace him (a sly metacommentary by a studio that was itself upending the animation industry). — Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026 Both movies were directed by YouTube stars and cost nearly nothing to produce, upending conventional wisdom about the necessary components for a hit. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 31 May 2026 This structure grants public shareholders economic exposure but no power, upending traditional models designed to protect investors from executive self-interest. — Mary Johnstone-Louis, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026 Iran attacked a cargo ship traveling through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, possibly upending President Donald Trump‘s diplomatic end to the war with Iran. — Christian Datoc, The Washington Examiner, 25 June 2026 The mayor's goal was to make things easier for the city's immigrant delivery workforce by upending a policy that had been put in pace by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. — Marcia Kramer, CBS News, 25 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upending
  1. defeating
  2. erecting
  3. overcoming
  4. raising
  5. mastering
  6. taking
  7. beating
  8. dispatching
Verb
  • The girls posted a 6-2 record at the state tournament in a field of 50 of Southern California’s top 12U teams with several extra-inning and walk-off wins, defeating multiple district champions, including San Juan Capistrano and Oxnard.
    — News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2026
  • Another democratic socialist, 29-year-old Melat Kiros, won a congressional primary in Colorado on June 30, defeating a longtime Democratic incumbent.
    — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 5 July 2026
Definition of defeating
Verb
  • Officials, still working on guidance that will allow third parties to host the accounts, are also eyeing ways to increase enrollment, including partnering with brands, erecting billboards, and collaborating with medical facilities.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 6 July 2026
  • Would Wimbledon consider erecting statues of non-British champions, such as Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams or Roger Federer?
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 July 2026
Definition of erecting
Verb
  • Forward-looking firms are overcoming this by deploying advanced technical strategies.
    — Ali Hoss, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Normal matter can’t be stuffed into a space tiny and dense enough without overcoming a huge outward pressure.
    — Stephen DiKerby, The Conversation, 29 June 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • But a fresh start comes with plenty of new challenges — from rival ranchers and relentless cattle work to the unexpected trials of raising their teenage son, Carter (Finn Little).
    — Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
  • SpaceX went public in June, raising roughly $75 billion in the largest IPO on record.
    — Luke Fountain,Justin Papp, CNBC, 3 July 2026
Definition of raising
Verb
  • In an era where AI automates many startup tasks, mastering Strategic Fit—discovering the optimal market alignment faster than competitors—is becoming the paramount competitive advantage for founders aiming to build billion-dollar enterprises.
    — Dileep Rao, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Netanyahu, 76, has spent decades mastering political theater, sharp messaging and grand performances.
    — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 29 June 2026
Definition of mastering
Verb
  • The Heat is also taking a patient approach in filling out its roster for next season because a few accomplished players could soon become available on the buyout market.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 7 July 2026
  • Future solar missions are now going to have to start taking dust into account, said Ayaz, with dedicated detectors designed to measure dust's properties close to the Sun.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of taking
Verb
  • El Tri won its first knockout match at a World Cup since 1986, beating Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday night at the majestic Azteca Stadium packed with 80,824 fans.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • In May, just weeks before the ruling, the athlete won the West Virginia Class AAA girls’ shot put state championship with a throw of 38 feet, 11¾ inches, beating the runner-up by just over two feet.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of beating
Verb
  • And the first round this year certainly had its shining moments – from demolishing Paraguay to tidily dispatching Australia.
    — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 30 June 2026
  • After dazzling in their opening match of this World Cup and dispatching Croatia 4-2, some felt a sense of foreboding when Ghana held Thomas Tuchel’s side to a 0-0 draw in their second.
    — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of dispatching

Browse Nearby Words

upended
upending
upends
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Upending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upending. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on upending

Nglish: Translation of upending for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All