turn on its head

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Completely reverse or change something

Literally: rotate something upside down
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The new evidence turned the entire case on its head

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “turn on its head” mean?

Completely reverse or change something Literally: rotate something upside down

Is “turn on its head” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.