keel over
UK /ˈkiːl ˈəʊvə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈkil ˈoʊvɚ/ verb
Forms keels over keeling over keeled over
- verb (intransitive, nautical, also figuratively) Of a vessel: to roll so far on its side that it cannot recover; to capsize or turn turtle.
- verb (intransitive, idiomatic) To collapse in a faint; to black out, to swoon. “We should all go inside before somebody keels over from the heat.”
- verb (intransitive, idiomatic) To die.
Etymology
The original nautical meaning (sense 1) refers to a vessel rolling to the extent that its keel (“a large beam along the underside of the vessel’s hull from bow to stern”) is visible.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “keel over”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details