turn on

Formsturns on, turning on, turned on

1. 1
   start (machine)phrasal verbtransitive

   To start up or activate something such as an appliance, a light, a mechanism, or a feature.

   Could you turn on the porch light before our guests arrive?

   I turned location services on so the app could find stores near me.

   Similaractivate, enable, start (entry)

   Oppositedeactivate, disable

   Note

   The thing switched on can sit on either side of the particle: turn on the lights, turn the lights on. A pronoun goes in the middle, as in the help-desk line from Graham Linehan's The IT Crowd (2006), have you tried turning it off and turning it on again? Turn on it, with the pronoun after, belongs to the attacking meaning instead.

2. 2
   start (machine)phrasal verbintransitive

   Of a device, to start operating or power up.

   The streetlights turn on automatically at dusk.

   The printer turned on by itself in the middle of the night.

   Similarstart (entry)

3. 3
   phrasal verbtransitive

   To make someone feel sexually aroused.

   Nothing turns her on more than a man who can cook.

   After ten years together, they still know how to turn each other on.

   Similararouse, excite

4. 4
   rebel againstphrasal verbtransitive

   To rebel against someone or suddenly attack them.

   The dog turned on its owner without any warning.

   Once the scandal broke, voters began to turn on the senator they had elected twice.

   Similarattack, betray

   Note

   Here on stays fixed before the person attacked: the crowd turned on him, never turned him on, which means something else entirely. The attack is often a betrayal by former allies, as when Rachida Dati turned on her own party elite, or Ariana Grande's fans turned on a journalist who had insulted the star.

5. 5
   start the flowphrasal verbtransitive

   To start a flow of liquid or gas running by turning a faucet or valve.

   She turned the hose on and watered the tomatoes.

   Don't turn on the gas until you have a match ready to light the burner.

   Similarstart (entry), open

6. 6
   appealing thingnoun · turn-oncountable

   Something that attracts, pleases, or encourages someone, especially in a sexual way.

   A good sense of humor is a real turn-on.

   For many buyers, a big backyard is a major turn-on.

   Similarattraction, draw, plus

   Oppositeturn-off

   Note

   The noun is made from the verb and hyphenated, while the verb stays open: a turn-on, but it turns me on. Its opposite is a turn-off, and both are often strengthened with real or major, as in a real turn-on or a major turn-on for buyers.

7. 7
   spark interestphrasal verbtransitive

   To introduce someone to something, especially in a way that fills them with enthusiasm, or to excite and delight them.

   My older brother turned me on to science fiction when I was ten.

   A great teacher can turn students on to poetry for life.

   Similarintroduce

8. 8
   dependphrasal verbintransitive

   To depend on something, or to have it as the central point or subject.

   The whole case turns on whether the witness can be trusted.

   Much of the novel's plot turns on a single lost letter.

   Similarhinge, depend, rest, hang

9. 9
   aimphrasal verbtransitive

   To aim something, such as a light or a weapon, at someone or something.

   The officer turned the spotlight on the van parked behind the warehouse.

   The cornered soldier turned his rifle on the advancing troops.

   Similaraim, point, train, direct

   Note

   Three parts make this sense: the thing aimed sits between turn and on, and the target follows, as in turned the searchlight on the passing planes. Without a target the same words fall back to switching something on, so whatever comes after on is what makes this the aiming sense.

10. 10
    set againstphrasal verb

    To cause one person or group to rebel against or suddenly attack another.

    The regime spread rumors to turn neighbors on one another.

    Years of gossip had turned the two sisters on each other.

    Similarpit

    Note

    It takes two objects: the people set against each other go between turn and on, and the target follows, very often each other or one another. X-Con's "Women In Cages", in Gay Community News (1984), names the tactic plainly: locking us up and turning us on each other.

11. 11
    get highphrasal verbslangintransitive

    To take drugs.

    Half the band used to light a joint and turn on before every show.

    They drove out to the desert with a bag of mushrooms to turn on and watch the stars.

    Note

    Nothing follows on in this slang use: a person simply turns on. In Chuck Barnes's Revenge (1971) a policeman admits he likes to turn on too, since he doesn't drink and has to get his kicks somehow. Put a person after on and the words mean starting someone else on drugs.

12. 12
    introduce (drugs)phrasal verbslangtransitive

    To get someone to start taking drugs, especially hallucinogens.

    He never forgave the friend who turned him on to LSD.

    The dealer's plan was to turn on as many college kids as he could with free acid.

    Similarintroduce

    Note

    The person drawn in is the object and can follow on directly: Socialization in Drug Abuse (1976), by Robert H. Coombs and colleagues, found that many youngsters would not turn on a close friend who had never used drugs. On the page that can look like a sudden attack, and only the drug context tells them apart. The drug itself follows to, as in turned him on to LSD.

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