- turn */*/*/
- I UK [tɜː(r)n] / US [tɜrn]
verb
Word forms "turn":
present tense I/you/we/they turn he/she/it turns present participle turning past tense turned past participle turned1)a) [intransitive/transitive] to change the position of your body or head so that you are facing in a different directionShe turned and smiled at me.
turn to:He turned his head and looked around the room.
turn away:Maria turned to the reporters and said: "I'm innocent."
turn around/round:Lopez just glared at the other man and then turned away.
turn to do something:The girls in front turned round and grinned.
The whole audience turned to stare at the latecomers.
b) [transitive] to change the position of something so that it is pointing in a different directionturn something around/round:turn something on someone/something:Turn your chairs round so you're facing me.
turn something over:The attacker killed three people before turning the gun on himself.
Turn the tape over and press "Play".
2) [intransitive] to change the direction in which you are moving or travellingturn around/towards/into etc:We turned into our drive, glad to get home.
turn left/right:The truck turned around and came back towards us.
Follow this path; then turn right and walk uphill.
a) [transitive] to make something change the direction in which it is movingturn something around/towards/into etc:He turned the car in the direction of the city.
They ordered the pilot to turn the plane around.
b) [intransitive] if a road or river turns, it bends and goes in a different directionHere the road turns sharply to the right.
c) [intransitive] if the tide turns, it moves in the opposite direction3)a) [intransitive] to make a circular movementI heard the key turn in the lock.
b) [transitive] to make something move in a circleTurning this wheel will start the machine.
4) [transitive] if you turn the page of a book or magazine, you move it in order to read a different page5)a) [linking verb] to change and do or become something elseturn professional:turn cold/chilly:Duval turned professional in 1993.
The weather turned quite chilly in the afternoon.
b) to change and become another colourThe leaves turn bright red in autumn.
6) [linking verb] to become a particular age or a particular timeHe turned 40 in March.
It's just turned midnight.
7) [intransitive/transitive] if your stomach turns, or if something turns your stomach, you feel as if food in your stomach is going to come out through your mouth8) [intransitive/transitive] mainly journalism if someone turns a game or a fight, or if it turns, it starts to develop in a different way9) [intransitive] if milk turns, it becomes sour10) [transitive] to give a particular shape to a piece of wood or metal using a lathe•not know where/which way to turn
— to not know what to do in a difficult situationPhrasal verbs:The changes have left a lot of people not knowing which way to turn.
- turn in- turn off- turn on- turn out- turn to- turn upSee:
II UK [tɜː(r)n] / US [tɜrn] noun [countable]
Word forms "turn":
singular turn plural turns1) someone's turn is the time when they can or must do something, because they are with other people who are each doing the same activity one after the othersomeone's turn to do something:You've already moved your piece – it's my turn now.
wait your turn (= be patient until it is your turn):I'm sure it's your turn to wash the dishes.
You'll just have to wait your turn like everyone else.
2) a change of direction made by a person or vehicleHe made a left turn into a quiet street.
a) a place where a road bends to the right or leftThere's a very sharp turn at the end of the road.
b) mainly American a turning3) a movement in a circle made by an objectHe gave the tap one more firm turn.
4) a change in a situationtake a turn for the better/worse (= become better/worse):The argument over drugs in sport took an unexpected turn yesterday.
turn of events (= an unexpected change in a situation):The weather suddenly took a turn for the worse.
We wanted to express our shock at today's tragic turn of events.
5) a short performance consisting of a song, a piece of music, a series of jokes etc as part of a set of performancesI'm going to do a turn at the concert next week.
6) old-fashioned a short walk taken for pleasure7) British informal old-fashioned an occasion when you suddenly feel ill or very weakgive someone a turn (= to frighten someone so that they feel ill):I think she's having one of her turns.
You gave her quite a turn, suddenly appearing like that!
•done/cooked to a turn
— cooked for exactly the right amount of timea good/bad turn
— an action that helps/harms someone; one good turn deserves another used for saying that you should be kind to someone who has been kind to youHe had done her a good turn.
speak/talk out of turn
— to say something that you should not say because you have no right to say it or because it upsets someoneI hope I'm not speaking out of turn, but I preferred the original version.
take turns
= take it in turn(s) British — if people take turns or take it in turns to do something, each of them does their share of it, one after the otherWe took turns steering the boat.
the turn of the century/year
— the time around the end of one century/year and the beginning of the nexta mansion built at the turn of the century
- by turns- in turn
English dictionary. 2014.