turn

SayTURN/tɜɹn/UK/tɜːn/

Verbturns, turning, turned

Noun pluralturns

54 meanings of turn

Practice

1
rotate somethingverbtransitive
To move, or make something move, around a central point or into a different position.
Turn the picture to face the wall.
She turned the key and the engine caught.
UsageOften with over, around or a direction: turn the page over, turn your chair around.
Similarrotate, twist, spin, swivel
2
change intoverbtransitive or intransitive
To change fundamentally into something else, or to make something change in this way.
The caterpillar will turn into a butterfly.
Their friendship turned into something more.
UsageUsually turn into something, or turn one thing into another: turned water into wine.
Similarchange, transform, develop, evolve, grow
3
verbintransitive
To alter course so as to go in a new direction.
The road turns sharply before the bridge.
We had to turn back when the snow started.
UsageOften with a direction: turn left, turn back, turn around.
Similarveer, swerve, bend, curve, swing
4
verbtransitive or intransitive
To become, or to begin to be.
The weather turned cold overnight.
Leave the bread out and it will turn stale.
UsageTakes an adjective, like get or go: turned cold. Before a job word, no article: actor turned politician.
Similarbecome, get, grow, go (entry)
Note
Older verse uses to instead, as in Congreve's "Love to Hatred turn'd."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The quoted words occur in older verse written by William Congreve: Zara speaks them in The Mourning Bride, Act III. en.wikisource.org
Congreve is the author of the work containing the quotation. en.wikisource.org
5
your gonouncountable
The time or chance for one person to do something, such as play, move, or work, when others take part in order.
Wait your turn at the slide.
Each child had a turn on the pony.
UsageOften wait your turn, take turns, and it's my turn to play.
Similargo (entry)
6
nouncountable
A change of direction or orientation, or the act of making one.
Make a left turn at the gas station, then look for the blue house.
The car took the turn too fast.
UsageYou make or take a turn: make a left turn, took the turn too fast.
Similartwist, bend, corner, curve, rotation
Note
It covers any change of heading, small or large: a handle given a turn, the turn of a shoulder, a bend in the road. None of these implies a full circle.
7
verbintransitive
Followed by to: to look to someone or something for help, advice, comfort, or an answer, often once other choices have run out.
After two banks rejected their loan, the couple turned to a credit union.
Patients with no other options sometimes turn to experimental treatments.
UsageOften have nowhere to turn; turn to drink means start drinking to escape.
Similarresort
8
verbtransitive or intransitive
To direct one's attention, one's thoughts, or a conversation toward a different subject; also, of thoughts, to come to dwell on something.
After the vote, the committee turned its attention to the school budget.
Conversation at our family dinners always seems to turn to politics.
UsageCommon in talks and meetings: turning now to sport, let's turn to the budget.
Similarshift, switch, direct
9
reach ageverbtransitive or intransitive
To reach a stated age.
My grandfather will turn ninety in May.
The company turns a hundred next year.
UsageFollowed directly by the age: she turned forty last week.
Similarreach, hit
10
sudden changenouncountable
A change in condition or circumstance, usually a sudden one.
The patient took a turn for the better by morning.
The story takes a dark turn in the third act.
UsageOften take a turn for the better or for the worse, or take a dark turn.
Similartwist, change, shift, development, swing
11
go againstverbtransitive or intransitive
To rebel or go against what one formerly tolerated, with on or against.
The crowd turned on the speaker when he mentioned taxes.
Even his oldest friends began to turn against him.
UsageTurn on someone often suggests a sudden attack; turn against a change of loyalty.
Similarrebel, attack
12
verbreflexiveintransitive
To switch to a different course of action or way of approaching something.
After the scandal, the company promised to turn from secrecy to openness.
Late in life he turned to painting.
Similarswitch, shift, move
Note
A change of course in conduct rather than in space, and early uses spell out the self. Tyndale's 1526 New Testament has God who "turned hym silfe." Locke's mind "turns its view inward," and a 1914 story simply has someone turn her attention to the gossip column.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
Early examples include an explicitly reflexive construction. en.wiktionary.org
Tyndale's complete New Testament was first published in 1526. wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk
Tyndale's translation describes God as having 'turned hym silfe.' en.wiktionary.org
Locke writes of the mind turning its view inward. en.wikisource.org
The story containing the gossip passage appeared in November 1914, as 'An Outsider' by Louis Joseph Vance. en.wiktionary.org
The story describes a female character turning her attention to society gossip. gutenberg.org
13
direct intoverbtransitive
To send something, or force it, into a particular place.
In May the farmer turns his sheep onto the fresh spring grass.
Once it has set, turn the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.
UsageTurn cows into a field moves them; turn someone into a monster changes them.
Similardirect, send, drive, divert, channel
Note
Cooks and farmers use this one, and its frame looks exactly like the frame for transformation.
14
verbtransitive or intransitive
In fantasy, to change a person into a vampire, werewolf, zombie, or similar creature, or to become one.
According to the legend, a single bite under a full moon is enough to turn a human.
Everyone bitten during the outbreak turned within a few hours.
Similarchange
Note
Horror and fantasy fiction's verb for the bite that transforms. It works both ways: a vampire turns a victim, and the victim turns, often within hours. The passive is common in the genre's dialogue, as in "How long ago was he turned?", and Michael J. Totten's zombie novel Into the Wasteland (2017) has companions who "turned him on purpose".
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Michael J. Totten wrote the zombie novel Into the Wasteland. books.google.ch
Into the Wasteland was published in 2017. goodreads.com
The novel contains the quoted wording about companions deliberately turning someone. en.wiktionary.org
15
verbtransitive
To give form to something; to shape or adapt.
She has a rare gift for turning a phrase, so her speeches are never dull.
Few writers can turn a phrase as neatly as she does.
UsageMostly in turn a phrase and well turned: a well-turned phrase.
Similarcraft, shape, fashion, form
Note
Praise for craftsmanship, borrowed from the lathe, which shaped wood by spinning it. Addison in 1711 calls a man "well turned for the occupations of trade," and the image moves from objects to people: shaped, and therefore suited.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The figurative shaping or adapting sense extends the literal sense of shaping something on a lathe. en.wiktionary.org
A wood lathe shapes wood while rotating it. en.wikipedia.org
Addison used the quoted words about a man in 1711, in The Spectator, number 108. gutenberg.org

Less common meanings

16
go to pageverbfigurativelytransitive
To navigate through a book or printed pages.
Turn to the index at the back.
She turned to the last chapter first.
UsageUse to for the page: turn to page 10.
Similarflip, go (entry), skip
17
verbtransitive or intransitive
Of milk, wine, or food, to sour, spoil, or go bad.
The meat turned in the heat.
Fish will turn faster than anything else in the fridge.
Similarspoil, sour, curdle, rot
18
sprainverbtransitive
To twist or sprain a joint.
He turned his ankle in the last minute of the match.
A loose stone is all it takes to turn an ankle.
UsageUsually turn your ankle.
Similartwist, sprain, wrench
19
noun
The moment at which one span of time, such as a year, decade, or century, gives way to the next.
The city's population nearly doubled in the years after the turn of the twentieth century.
Worries about computer failures ran high as the turn of the millennium approached.
UsageUsually the turn of the century or the turn of the millennium.
20
verbtransitive or intransitive
Of leaves or trees, to change color in autumn.
Tourists come when the leaves turn.
The birches were turning gold along the river.
Similarchange
21
full rotationnouncountable
One complete rotation of an object about its own axis, back to where it started.
Each turn of the crank lifts the bucket a foot.
The dancer finished with two quick turns.
Similarrotation, revolution, spin, twirl
Note
Because it always ends where it started, this turn can be counted: three turns of a key, two turns in a dance, so many turns of a crank. The same completeness lets it serve as a unit of angle, one turn being the whole circle. A change of heading that stops short of the circle is the ordinary turn.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
A complete turn returns to its starting orientation and corresponds to one full circle as an angular measure. en.wikipedia.org
22
make moneyverbtransitive
To make or earn money.
They turned a small profit in their second year.
It took the little theater five years to turn a profit, but now it pays its own way.
UsageMostly in turn a profit.
Similarmake, earn, net, clear
23
nouncountable
A short act, skit, or routine in a show, especially in the circus, the theater, or physical comedy.
Each comedian did a ten-minute turn before the headliner came on.
Between the acrobats and the jugglers came a string of slapstick turns.
UsagePerformers do a turn: a comic turn, a ten-minute turn.
Similaract, routine, number, skit
Note
The word for one item on a variety bill, the short slot a performer fills between other acts: comic songs, dances, slapstick, a ten-minute comedy routine. Performers do a turn, and the word stresses the place in the running order as much as the act itself, which is why it is close to a turn in a sequence.
24
sickenverbtransitive or intransitive
To sicken or nauseate, chiefly with stomach as the object.
The description of the wound turned his stomach.
Even the thought of it is enough to turn my stomach.
Similarupset, sicken, nauseate
25
deednouncountable
A deed done to another person, whether kind or spiteful.
She did me a good turn when I was broke.
The scout's rule was one good turn a day.
UsageMostly do someone a good turn; one good turn deserves another.
Similardeed, favor, service, act, kindness
26
dependverbtransitive or intransitive
To hinge or depend on something.
The case turns on what the letter meant.
Whether we go will turn on the weather.
UsageFollowed by on: the case turns on one letter.
Similarhinge, depend, rest, hang
27
fold backverbtransitive
To fold something into a particular position, as when turning back bedsheets or turning down a collar.
The maid had turned the sheets back for the night.
His collar was sticking up at the back, so his mother reached over to turn it down.
Similarfold
28
get doneverbtransitive
Usually with over or around, to complete a job.
The shop promised to turn our order around in forty-eight hours.
The translation team turned the whole manual around in just two days.
UsageUsually turn something around: turn an order around in two days.
Similarcomplete, finish, process
29
time takennouncountable
The time needed to complete a job, its turnaround.
The lab promises a two-day turn on samples.
Our standard turn is ten working days, but rush orders can be finished in three.
UsageTurnaround means the same and is clearer to outsiders.
Similarturnaround
Note
Shops and labs use it when quoting for work. A supplier that can turn a job in three days offers a three-day turn, so the noun is the time the verb takes.
30
verbtransitive
To give something an even, symmetrical shape by spinning it against a cutting tool that stays still, as on a lathe.
Machinists turn steel shafts to within a thousandth of an inch.
He spent the winter turning maple spindles for the new staircase.
Note
The craft sense sits at the root of the whole word: Latin tornāre meant "to round off, turn in a lathe", from tornus, "lathe". A woodworker turns table legs or spindles, a machinist turns steel shafts, and the results are called turned work.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
English turn ultimately derives from Latin tornāre, whose meaning included shaping on a lathe. en.wiktionary.org
Latin tornāre meant to round off or turn on a lathe. en.wiktionary.org
Latin tornāre derives from tornus, meaning lathe. en.wiktionary.org
31
coil loopnouncountable
A single loop of a coil; one wrap of the wire.
The coil is made of two hundred turns of thin copper wire wound around an iron core.
Wind each turn tight against the last.
Similarloop, winding, coil, wrap
32
naturenouncountable
Character, disposition, or cast of personality.
Even as a child she showed a scientific turn of mind, collecting insects and labeling every one.
His gloomy turn of mind led him to expect the worst from every new plan.
UsageUsually with an adjective: a scientific turn of mind, of a gloomy turn.
Similarbent, disposition, inclination, temperament, leaning
Note
A disposition described as if it had been shaped, much as the shaping sense calls a man "well turned" for commerce.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The shaping sense extends figuratively to forming or adapting, supporting the comparison with a shaped disposition. en.wiktionary.org
A historical passage describes a man as well turned for commerce. gutenberg.org
33
strollnouncountable
A walk to and fro; a stroll.
He took a turn round the square after dinner.
A turn in the fresh air will do you good.
UsageUsually take a turn: take a turn round the garden.
Similarstroll, walk, promenade, saunter, amble
34
nouncountable
A sudden attack, as of faintness or shock, or a brief spell of dizziness.
After a bad turn at church, the old man agreed to see a doctor.
She has had several of these turns since the fall, each lasting a minute or two.
UsageMostly have a funny turn, a bad turn, or give someone a turn.
Similarspell, fit, attack, episode
Note
Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) has a servant describe something about Hyde that "gave a man a turn".
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, first published in 1886. commons.wikimedia.org
The speaker is a servant: Poole, Jekyll's butler. gutenberg.org
The servant describes something about Hyde using the exact words “gave a man a turn”. gutenberg.org
35
verb
To spin the ball so that it moves sideways after bouncing, said of a bowler in cricket.
36
verb
In cricket, of the ball, to veer to one side after hitting the ground.
37
verb
To cause milk or another food or drink to go sour or curdle.
38
verbslang
To cause someone to change their gender or whom they are attracted to, or to stir a new sexual interest in them.
39
verb
In professional wrestling, to switch roles from hero to villain or the other way around.
40
verb
Of the head, to spin with dizziness, or to make someone dizzy.
41
verb
In soccer and similar games, to get past a defender while keeping the ball under control, often by spinning away.
42
verb
Of wood, ivory or another material, to be shaped on a lathe, often said of how well or badly it works.
43
verb
To shift an unborn baby inside the womb so that it comes out feet first, to make the birth easier.
44
verbdated
In hand typesetting, to set a piece of type upside down as a stand-in for a character that has run out.
45
verbarchaic
To put words into another language.
who turns a Persian tale for half a crown
1735, Alexander Pope, The Prologue to the Satires
46
verb
In fantasy role-playing games, to drive off undead creatures using holy or magical power.
47
noun
A measure of angle equal to one full circle, or 360 degrees.
48
noun
A musical ornament, often marked with a sideways S symbol, that plays the note above, the main note, the note below, then the main note again.
49
noun
In cricket, the sideways change in a ball's direction as it bounces, produced by spin.
50
noun
In Texas hold 'em, the fourth shared card dealt face up on the table.
51
noun
In knot tying, a single loop of rope taken around or through an object.
52
noun
In soccer and similar games, a move in which a player gets by a defender while keeping the ball under control.
53
noundated
In hand typesetting, a letter set upside down as a placeholder when the right letter has run out.
54
nounUK
The gain a stock jobber made from the gap between the price at which shares were bought and the price at which they were sold.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of turn apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–4, 7–9, 11–18, 20, 22, 24, 26–28, 30

Modern turn continues Middle English turnen, which combined Old English turnian and tyrnan (meaning to turn, rotate, or revolve) with Old French torner. The Old English forms came through Proto-West Germanic. Both branches trace back to Latin tornāre, meaning to shape something on a lathe or round it off. That verb was formed from Latin tornus (lathe), borrowed from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos), a tool for drawing circles. Its deeper ancestor is a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to rub, turn, or twist.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 9 facts

Modern turn descends from Middle English turnen. en.wiktionary.org
Middle English turnen combines Old English turnian and tyrnan, meaning to turn, rotate, or revolve, with Old French torner. en.wiktionary.org
Old English turnian descends from a Proto-West Germanic form. en.wiktionary.org
Old English tyrnan descends from a Proto-West Germanic form. en.wiktionary.org
The Old English and Old French branches ultimately trace back to Latin tornāre. en.wiktionary.org
Latin tornāre means to shape something on a lathe or round it off. en.wiktionary.org
The Latin verb was formed from tornus, meaning lathe. en.wiktionary.org
Latin tornus was borrowed from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos), which denoted a tool for drawing circles. en.wiktionary.org
The deeper ancestor is a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to rub, turn, or twist. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 5–6, 10, 19, 21, 23, 25, 29, 31–34

This has two sources. One is Anglo-Norman *torn, which goes back through Latin tornus to Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos). The other is the verb turn, from which it was formed as an action noun.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The noun has two sources; one is Anglo-Norman *torn, ultimately from Latin tornus and Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos). en.wiktionary.org
The noun also arose as an action noun from the verb turn. en.wiktionary.org