to keel over

Examples

• All

• Perkins manages a slight smile before he keels over dead, his duty fulfilled.

  Fiction book (1997)

• Working on a stairclimber one afternoon last week, Stuart keeled over and died.

  Academic text (1993)

• And if I keel over and, you know, fall down, somebody call the ambulance.

• All of a sudden, she keeled over in a faint.

  Frankenstein's Daughter (1958)

• He keeled over from a heart attack.

  Hitchcock (2012)

• "Died on the spot," her obituary would say, "keeled over from a broken heart."

  Fiction book (2002)

• " We'd better get this show moving before we all keel over."

  Fiction book (1999)

• Three months later, Will Kemp keeled over in his own garage, dead at fifty-two from a heart attack.

  Fiction book (2001)

• You're about to keel over, you can't even lift that cannon

  Sin City (2005)

• Misty and Chip stare speechless as Scotty falls to his knees and keels over.

  Fiction book (1994)

Synonyms

F

to fall down

vsto keel over

250 1.0

Suddenly move from a standing position to the ground or a lower level

is a sudden collapse usually from internal causes like illness or fainting

P

to pass out

vsto keel over

188 3.7

To faint or lose consciousness suddenly

is a sudden physical collapse that often includes losing consciousness

G

to go over

vsto keel over

108 3.5

To fall forward or tip onto the ground

is a sudden collapse that can result from fainting or losing balance

T

to topple

vsto keel over

93 4.1

To fall over or make something fall over, often suddenly when it loses balance

is an abrupt collapse usually caused by illness, exhaustion, or shock

F

to fall over

vsto keel over

67 1.0

To lose your balance or stop being steady and end up on the ground

is a sudden collapse more often from internal illness or weakness

T

tumble

vsto keel over

46 2.9

A rolling fall or gymnastic turn of the body

is a collapse that usually drops someone down quickly without rolling

T

to tip over

vsto keel over

27 3.0

Make something fall from a standing position

is an unexpected collapse often tied to internal illness or fainting

K

to keel

vsto keel over

24 5.7

To fall over suddenly, often said about boats or people

is a sudden collapse often caused by illness, exhaustion, or shock

C

to crumple

vsto keel over

22 3.9

Suddenly fall down because something is weak or hit hard

is a sudden fall that often follows internal illness or extreme exhaustion

O

to overbalance

vsto keel over

1 5.6

To lose balance and almost fall

is a sudden collapse commonly following illness, exhaustion, or severe weakness

K

to keeling

vsto keel over

7.0

To tip or fall over, often used for a boat moving to one side

is used for sudden collapse of people, often from illness or exhaustion

O

to overtip

vsto keel over

5.8

To make something tilt so far that it falls over

is a sudden collapse that often happens from fainting or shock rather than tilting

O

to overset

vsto keel over

6.4

To make something fall over or turn upside down

is a sudden inward collapse usually caused by illness, exhaustion, or shock

T

to tump over

vsto keel over

• UK

8.2

To make something that stands fall over

is a sudden collapse typically resulting from fainting, illness, or extreme exhaustion

Antonyms

S

to stand

∞ 1.0

To be or put something in an upright position

R

to recover

748 2.5

Get back to a normal state after a loss, for example health or money

How Unstable

to collapse

579 3.9

to keel over

• Informal

16 5.7

to stagger

49 4.0

to sway

77 2.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology