Link Centre Dictionary

overturn

over·turn

UK/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈtɜː(ɹ)n/ US/ˈəʊvə(ɹ)ˌtɜː(ɹ)n/ uncommon

verb

1.

turn from an upright or normal position

  • “The big vase overturned”
  • “The canoe tumped over”
2.

cause to overturn from an upright or normal position

  • “The cat knocked over the flower vase”
  • “the clumsy customer turned over the vase”
  • “he tumped over his beer”
3.

rule against

  • “The Republicans were overruled when the House voted on the bill”
4.

cause the downfall of; of rulers

  • “The Czar was overthrown”
  • “subvert the ruling class”
5.

annul by recalling or rescinding

  • “He revoked the ban on smoking”
  • “lift an embargo”
  • “vacate a death sentence”
6.

change radically

  • “E-mail revolutionized communication in academe”

noun

1.

the act of upsetting something

  • “he was badly bruised by the upset of his sled at a high speed”
2.

an improbable and unexpected victory

  • “the biggest upset since David beat Goliath”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English overturnen, equivalent to over- + turn. Compare also Middle English overterven (“to overturn”), see terve.

Related words

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.