Word.ws English Dictionary

flip the script

flip the script verb: to reverse a situation, especially by doing something unexpected.

Verb

flip the script (third-person singular simple present flips the script, present participle flipping the script, simple past and past participle flipped the script)

  1. (Canada, US, informal) To reverse a situation, especially by doing something unexpected.
    • Some people walk with a panther or strike a buffalo stance that makes you wanna dance. Other people flip the script on the day of the jackal that'll make you cackle.2003, Deborah Gregory, The Cheetah Girls: Livin' Large!, page 405
    • But sometimes she'd flip the script and come out with some tight shit on, turning that magnetic strength up to full power.2008, Brian Peterson, Move Over, Girl: A Novel, page 63

Examples of flip the script in a sentence

  • We need to flip the script and start showing that same level of compassion and love toward each other, and perhaps we will then gain respect and control over our communities.2010, Inkwell, Children in the Belly of the Beast: Breeding Ground for Social Pathology, page 148:
  • You're always trying to flip the script on me.2011, Adrianne Byrd, King's Promise, page 94:

Synonyms of flip the script

Forms of flip the script

third-person singular presentflips the script
present participleflipping the script
past participleflipped the script
pastflipped the script

Questions about flip the script

What does flip the script mean?
Flip the script means to reverse a situation, especially by doing something unexpected.
How do you use flip the script in a sentence?
We need to flip the script and start showing that same level of compassion and love toward each other, and perhaps we will then gain respect and control over our communities.
What part of speech is flip the script?
Flip the script is a verb.
What is the past tense of flip the script?
The past tense of flip the script is flipped the script.

Words near flip the script in the dictionary

  1. flip smartphones
  2. flip teaching
  3. flip the bird
  4. flip the kipper
  5. flip the lid
  6. flip the script
  7. flip through
  8. flip throw
  9. flip throws
  10. flip turn
  11. flip turns

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: flip the script (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-flip the script.ogg.

Cite this entry: “flip the script.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/flip_the_script. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.