- turn
- [[t]tɜ͟ː(r)n[/t]]
♦turns, turning, turned(Turn is used in a large number of other expressions which are explained under other words in the dictionary. For example, the expression `turn over a new leaf' is explained at leaf.)1) VERB When you turn or when you turn part of your body, you move your body or part of your body so that it is facing in a different or opposite direction.
He turned abruptly and walked away...
[V prep/adv] He turned to his publicist and jokingly asked, `What's next?'...
[V prep/adv] He sighed, turning away and surveying the sea...
[V n adv/prep] He turned his head left and right...
[V n adv/prep] He waited for the woman to turn her face back to the road. [Also V n]
Turn around or turn round means the same as turn.V P
I felt a tapping on my shoulder and I turned around... V n P Turn your upper body round so that your shoulders are facing to the side.2) VERB When you turn something, you move it so that it is facing in a different or opposite direction, or is in a very different position.[V n prep/adv] They turned their telescopes towards other nearby galaxies...
[V n prep/adv] Turn the cake the right way up on to a wire rack...
[V n prep/adv] I turned my jacket inside out...
[V n to-inf] She had turned the bedside chair to face the door...
[V-ed] The lid, turned upside down, served as a coffee table.
3) V-ERG When something such as a wheel turns, or when you turn it, it continually moves around in a particular direction.As the wheel turned, the potter shaped the clay...
[V n] The engine turned a propeller.
4) V-ERG When you turn something such as a key, knob, or switch, or when it turns, you hold it and twist your hand, in order to open something or make it start working.[V n] Turn a special key, press the brake pedal, and your car's brakes lock...
[V n prep/adv] Turn the heat to very low and cook for 20 minutes...
I tried the doorknob and it turned.
5) VERB When you turn in a particular direction or turn a corner, you change the direction in which you are moving or travelling.[V prep/adv] He turned into the narrow terraced street where he lived...
[V prep/adv] Now turn right to follow West Ferry Road...
[V n] The man with the umbrella turned the corner again.
N-COUNTTurn is also a noun.You can't do a right-hand turn here.
6) VERB The point where a road, path, or river turns, is the point where it has a bend or curve in it.[V prep/adv] ...the corner where Tenterfield Road turned into the main road. [Also V]
N-COUNTTurn is also a noun....a sharp turn in the road.
7) VERB When the tide turns, it starts coming in or going out.There was not much time before the tide turned.
8) VERB When someone turns a cartwheel or a somersault, they do a cartwheel or somersault.[V n] They were still doing wild acrobatics in the yard, turning somersaults and cartwheels.
9) VERB When you turn a page of a book or magazine, you move it so that is flat against the previous page, and you can read the next page.[V n] He turned the pages of a file in front of him.
10) VERB If you turn a weapon or an aggressive feeling on someone, you point it at them or direct it at them.[V n on n] He tried to turn the gun on me...
[V n on n] The crowd than turned their anger on Prime Minister James Mitchell.
11) VERB If you turn to a particular page in a book or magazine, you open it at that page.[V to n] To order, turn to page 236.
12) VERB If you turn your attention or thoughts to a particular subject or if you turn to it, you start thinking about it or discussing it.[V n to n] We turned our attention to the practical matters relating to forming a company ...
[V to n] We turn now to the British news.
13) VERB If you turn to someone, you ask for their help or advice.[V to n] For assistance, they turned to one of the city's most innovative museums...
[V to n] There was no one to turn to, no one to tell.
14) VERB If you turn to a particular activity, job, or way of doing something, you start doing or using it.[V to/from n/-ing] These communities are now turning to recycling in large numbers...
[V to/from n/-ing] The Superpowers turned to the harder task of cutting their nuclear arsenals...
[V to/from n/-ing] Universities are turning from academic to commercial sponsorship.
15) V-ERG To turn or be turned into something means to become that thing.[V into/to n] A prince turns into a frog in this cartoon fairytale...
[V into/to n] Their grief turned to hysteria when the funeral procession arrived at the cemetery...
[V n into/to n] The hated dictator had turned his country into one of the poorest police states in Europe...
[V n into/to n] He soon turned his dreams to reality.
[V-ed] ...an MP turned diplomat.
16) V-LINK You can use turn before an adjective to indicate that something or someone changes by acquiring the quality described by the adjective.[V adj] If the bailiff thinks that things could turn nasty he will enlist the help of the police...
[V adj] She announced that she was going to turn professional.
Syn:17) V-LINK-ERG If something turns a particular colour or if something turns it a particular colour, it becomes that colour.[V colour] The sea would turn pale pink and the sky blood red...
[V n colour] Her contact lenses turned her eyes green.
18) V-LINK You can use turn to indicate that there is a change to a particular kind of weather. For example, if it turns cold, the weather starts being cold.[V adj] If it turns cold, cover plants...
[V adj] The weather had turned warm and thundery overnight.
19) N-COUNT: with supp, oft N in n If a situation or trend takes a particular kind of turn, it changes so that it starts developing in a different or opposite way.The scandal took a new turn over the weekend.
...the latest turn in the fighting...
Retailers have given up waiting for a turn in the housing market.
20) V-ERG In sports, if a game turns, or is turned, something significant happens which changes the way the game is developing. [BRIT, JOURNALISM]The game turned in the 56th minute.
[V n] ...the Gareth Edwards try which turned the game between France and Wales in Paris in 1971.
[V n] The firm will be able to service debt and still turn a modest profit...
(in BRIT, use , return)[V n] He says the fares are just too low to turn profits.
22) VERB When someone turns a particular age, they pass that age. When it turns a particular time, it passes that time.[V n] It was his ambition to accumulate a million dollars before he turned thirty...
[V n] It had just turned twelve o'clock.
23) N-SING: the N of n Turn is used in expressions such as the turn of the century and the turn of the year to refer to a period of time when one century or year is ending and the next one is beginning.They fled to South America around the turn of the century.
24) VERB When someone turns a wooden or metal object that they are making, they shape it using a special tool.[V n] ...the joys of making a living from turning wood.
[V-ed] ...finely-turned metal.
25) N-COUNT: usu with poss, oft N to-inf, N at -ing, N -ing If it is your turn to do something, you now have the duty, chance, or right to do it, when other people have done it before you or will do it after you.Tonight it's my turn to cook...
Let each child have a turn at fishing...
Students are expected to take their turn leading the study group.
26) N-COUNT If you say that someone is having a turn, you mean they feel suddenly very unwell for a short period of time. [BRIT, INFORMAL]He is having one of his turns...
He gets funny turns, you know. It's his age.
27) → See also turning28) PHRASE: PHR with group, PHR with v You can use by turns to indicate that someone has two particular emotions or qualities, one after the other.His tone was by turns angry and aggrieved.
29) PHRASE If there is a particular turn of events, a particular series of things happen.They were horrified at this unexpected turn of events.
30) PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl (emphasis) If you say that something happens at every turn, you are emphasizing that it happens frequently or all the time, usually so that it prevents you from achieving what you want.Its operations were hampered at every turn by inadequate numbers of trained staff...
At every turn smoke and flame stopped efforts to get into the living quarters.
31) PHRASE: usu PHR after v If you do someone a good turn, you do something that helps or benefits them.He did you a good turn by resigning...
One good turn deserves another.
32) PHRASE: V inflects If someone turns a place inside out or upside down, they search it very thoroughly and usually make it very untidy.They hadn't found a scrap of evidence though they had turned his flat inside out.
33) PHRASE: V inflects If something such as a system or way of life is turned inside out or upside down, it is changed completely, making people confused or upset.He felt too shocked to move. His world had been turned upside down.
34) PHRASE: PHR with cl/group You use in turn to refer to actions or events that are in a sequence one after the other, for example because one causes the other.One of the members of the surgical team leaked the story to a fellow physician who, in turn, confided in a reporter.
35) PHRASE: PHR after v If each person in a group does something in turn, they do it one after the other in a fixed or agreed order.There were cheers for each of the women as they spoke in turn.
36) PHRASE If someone is of a particular turn of mind, they have that kind of mind or character.She was of a rational turn of mind.
37) PHRASE: V inflects If you speak out of turn or talk out of turn, you say something that you do not have the right or authority to say.I hope I haven't spoken out of turn.
38) PHRASE: PHR after v If a person, animal, or vehicle has a good turn of speed, they have the ability to move fast. [BRIT]39) PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR to-inf If two or more people take turns to do something, or in British English take it in turns to do something, they do it one after the other several times, rather than doing it together.We took turns to drive the car...
Ted and I took it in turns to go into hospital and sit with Emma.
40) PHRASE: V inflects If a situation takes a turn for the worse, it suddenly becomes worse. If a situation takes a turn for the better, it suddenly becomes better.Her condition took a sharp turn for the worse.
Phrasal Verbs:- turn in- turn off- turn on- turn out- turn up
English dictionary. 2008.
