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keel over

B2 informal inseparable intransitive
In simple words

To suddenly fall over or tip sideways, like when someone faints.

Literal meaning: For a boat to roll onto its side so that the keel (bottom) faces outward.

Meanings

1 B1 idiomatic informal

(Of a person) to suddenly fall over, especially by fainting or collapsing from illness, exhaustion, or shock.

"It was so hot at the outdoor concert that two people keeled over and had to be helped off the field."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B2 neutral

(Of a boat or ship) to turn sideways and capsize.

"The small sailing boat keeled over in the sudden gust of wind."

Grammar: inseparable
3 B2 idiomatic informal

(Informal, sometimes humorous) To die suddenly.

"He ate so much at dinner that he joked he was about to keel over."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Originally a nautical term — a keel is the bottom of a boat, and 'keeling over' means the boat has turned onto its side. In everyday speech it most commonly describes a person fainting or collapsing suddenly. Can also be used humorously.

Commonly used with

faint heat exhaustion shock dead floor

Forms

Base
keel over
I/you/we/they
3rd person
keels over
he/she/it
Past simple
keeled over
yesterday
Past participle
keeled over
have + pp
-ing form
keeling over
continuous

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Synonyms

collapse pass out faint topple over fall down tip over

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