overturn
overturn Lexical Profile
overturn Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To abolish, invalidate, or reverse (an official decision, law, legal ruling, or established system).
"The appellate court voted unanimously to overturn the original conviction."
To tip over, flip, or cause something to turn upside down or fall onto its side.
"Fierce gusts of wind threatened to overturn the small sailboat."
To overthrow, defeat, or bring down (a government, ruler, or established institution).
"The reform movement sought to overturn the entrenched political hierarchy."
• noun
The act of upsetting, reversing, or overthrowing something, or the state of being overturned.
"The sudden overturn of the lower court's verdict surprised many legal analysts."
The seasonal vertical mixing and circulation of water in a lake or ocean caused by temperature and density changes between surface and deep layers.
"During the autumn overturn, oxygen-rich surface water mixes down to the bottom of the lake."
• Rhymes for overturn
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English around the 13th century by combining the prefix over- with the verb turn, replacing the earlier Old English form oferhwierfan.