capsize

• capsise (hypercorrect)

Attested since 1788. Origin unknown. Possibly related to Spanish chapuzar (“to sink by the head”).

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkæpsaɪz/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kæpˈsaɪz/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪz

capsize (third-person singular simple present capsizes, present participle capsizing, simple past and past participle capsized)

1. (intransitive, nautical) To overturn.
   • 1982, “Sexual Healing”, performed by Marvin Gaye:

     Baby, I think I'm capsizing / The waves are rising and rising

2. (transitive, nautical) To cause (a ship) to overturn.
   • 1819–1824, [Lord Byron], Don Juan, London, (please specify |canto=I to XVII):

     But what if carrying sail capsize the boat?

3. (intransitive, of knots) To deform under stress.
   • 1944, Clifford Warren Ashley, The Ashley Book of Knots, page 19:

     There are even cases where a totally different knot may result when carelessly pulled. Tie the Granny Knot around any object and pull one end, and it will capsize into Two Half Hitches.

• keel over
• turn turtle

• → Dutch: kapseizen
• >? Swedish: kapsejsa

capsize (plural capsizes)

1. The act of, or occurrence of capsizing or overturning.

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “capsize”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

• capizes