upset
/ʌpˈsɛt/ verb B2- To make (a person) angry, distressed, or unhappy. · I’m sure the bad news will upset him, but he needs to know.
- To disturb, disrupt or adversely alter (something). · Introducing a foreign species can upset the ecological balance.· The fatty meat upset his stomach.
- To tip or overturn (something).
- To defeat unexpectedly. · Truman upset Dewey in the 1948 US presidential election.
- To be upset or knocked over. · The carriage upset when the horse bolted.
- To thicken and shorten a soft or heated piece of metal, by forging or hammering on the end, to shape, for example, rivets or internal combustion engine valves.
- To shorten (a tire) in the process of resetting, originally by cutting it and hammering on the ends.
- To support with an upset (type of woven row).
He/she/it upsets · Past upset · Past participle upset · -ing form upsetting
Verb forms
- Base form
- upset
- He/she/it
- upsets
- Past
- upset
- Past participle
- upset
- -ing form
- upsetting
An irregular verb: learn its past and past participle by heart.
From the library
“‘“Then we run another risk,” said the general, laughing, “that of being upset.” We insert this joke to prove that the general was not in the least compelled to attend the meeting, but that he came willingly.
Then the Lion gathered his legs under him and jumped on the wall; but just as he jumped, he upset a china church with his tail and smashed it all to pieces.
This Brixton Road affair has upset you.”
Gregson sprang out of his chair and upset the remainder of his whiskey and water.
Other matches
Learn upset in real texts
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