See Also: Turn(medicine)
out-turn(dictionary)
re-turn(dictionary)
Turn(finance)
turn(1)(dictionary)
turn(2)(dictionary)
turn-down(dictionary)
turn-off(dictionary)
turn-up(dictionary)
U-turn(dictionary)

turn(2) (iou)



turn verb.
[Old English tyrnan, turnian from Latin tornare turn in a lathe, round off, from tornus lathe from Greek tornos lathe, circular movement; prob. reinforced from Old French turner, torner (mod. tourner), also from Latin.]
I. Rotate, revolve; form or shape by rotation.
verb trans. & intrans. (Cause to) move round on an axis or about a centre; rotate, revolve. OE.
W. Cowper Waters turning busy mills. G. Greene He turned the heating wheel. A. Christie She turned the ring on her finger round and round. H. Norman A newly skinned beaver slowly turning over a fire.
b. verb trans. & intrans. (Cause to) move round or (esp.) partly round in this way, so as to open or close something. ME.
Keats The key turns, and the door upon its hinges groans. G. Manville Fenn She softly turned the handle of the door. J. McGahern They'd..place her in the wood. Quietly they'd turn the screws of the lid.
c. verb trans. Perform (a somersault or cartwheel). M19.
verb intrans. Of time, life, etc.: revolve, whirl. Later esp. of the head: have a sensation as of whirling; be affected with giddiness; reel. OE.
verb trans. & intrans. Shape (wood, metal, etc., an object) esp. into a rounded form, by rotating it in a lathe against a cutting tool. ME.
E. B. Ramsay He..taught us to saw, and to plane, and to turn. Practical Woodworking In turning these goblets I..cut from the outside to the centre.
b. verb trans. Build (an arched or vaulted structure). E18.
c. verb trans. Knitting & Lace-making. Shape (a curved part). L19.
verb trans. gen. Shape or form artistically or gracefully; fig. express elegantly, give an elegant form to (a composition etc.). E17.
Leigh Hunt The hand long, delicate, and well turned. J. Updike Brief essays turned to oblige a friend.
verb intrans. Foll. by on, upon.
a. Depend on, be determined by. M17.
G. Greene The whole story is made to turn on whether or not his hunt will be successful. D. Fraser The situation..would..ultimately turn on sea power.
b. Be concerned with, involve, be about. E18.
T. Hardy The talk turned..on the castle-competition.
II. Change position or course.
a. verb intrans. Change position by a rotary motion or movement through an angle. OE.
Sir W. Scott Turning to the other side to enjoy his slumbers. Tolkien He lay tossing and turning and listening..to the..night-noises.
b. Of a balance, or its beam: move up or down from the horizontal position. L16.
verb trans. Change the position of (an object, arch. oneself) by a rotary motion or movement through an angle. ME.
R. J. Graves He cannot be..turned in bed, without having a tendency to faint. E. Welty He had a small key..and was turning it over and over in his fingers.
b. fig. Consider (a matter) thoroughly; revolve in the mind. Now usu. foll. by over. E18.
J. Galsworthy For the hundredth time..he turned over this problem. K. Ishiguro I watched them.., turning over in my mind the news about Matsuda.
c. Twist (an ankle) out of position, esp. by landing awkwardly; sprain. M19.
verb trans. Give a curved or crooked form to; bend, twist; fold (now rare exc. in turn back, turn down, turn in, turn up below); spec. bend back (a sharp edge) so as to make blunt or useless. ME.
b. verb intrans. Of a sharp edge: become blunted by bending. L16.
verb trans. Change the course of; cause to take a new direction; divert, deflect. Now usu. foll. by aside. ME.
Daily Telegraph Miss Lansing smilingly turned aside all such speculation.
b. verb trans. Check the course of. E17.
J. Clare Spreading thorns that turn'd a summer shower.
c. verb intrans. & trans. Cricket. Of a ball: change direction on pitching, break. Of a bowler or pitch: cause (a ball) to do this. L19.
verb trans. fig. Divert or deflect from a course of action, development, thought, etc. ME.
E. M. Forster She turned the conversation to a less disturbing topic. J. Marquand No individual ever turned the stream of events from its course.
verb trans.
a. Transfer, hand over. Long obsolete exc. dial. ME.
b. Cause (money or a commodity) to circulate. arch. E17.
verb intrans. Change course, so as to go in a different direction; deviate; (of the wind) shift. Usu. foll. by preposition. ME.
T. Hardy When they reached the turnpike-road she turned to the right. V. Nabokov He turned into a side gallery. W. Golding He turned off what was already no major highway. A. Dillard I turned down the row to my study.
b. Nautical. Tack. M16.
c. Of a road, line, etc.: bend, curve; branch off at an angle from a main road etc. M16.
verb trans. Alter one's course to get to the other side of, go round, (a corner etc.). L17.
Ld Macaulay Before Gama had turned the Cape.
b. Military. Pass round (an enemy's position, flank, etc.) so as to attack from the side or rear. M19.
c. Football etc. Get round (an opponent at close quarters) by forcing him or her to change direction. L20.
verb trans. Pass or get beyond (a specified age or time). E18.
R. Lindner Soon after Mac had turned three he was taken to..his grandfather's house. P. Bailey I earned my first wages..when I was just turned twelve.
III. Reverse position or course.
verb trans. Reverse the position of; move so that the underside becomes the uppermost, or the back the front; invert; spec. (a) plough or dig (soil) so as to bring the under parts to the surface; (b) reverse (a page of a book) in order to read or write on the other side, or on the next page. ME.
C. M. Yonge He turned his horse, and was about to flee. J. Ruskin Her..fine legerdemain in turning pancakes. S. Trott I prepared my vegetable garden.., fertilizing, turning the soil. B. Chatwin The girl was turning the leaves of an album.
b. Alter or remake (a garment or esp. a sheet) by putting the worn outer side on the inside. L15.
Shakespeare Taming of Shrew A pair of old breeches thrice turn'd.
c. Printing. Set or print (a type or letter) upside down in letterpress printing, either accidentally or as a marker for a future change or correction to be made. Chiefly as TURNED ppl adjective. E18.
verb trans. Reverse the course of; cause to go in the opposite direction. Also foll. by back. ME.
J. Morley The man who turned the tide back.
verb intrans. Reverse one's or its course, begin to go in the opposite direction, (also foll. by back); spec. (of the tide) change from flood to ebb, or from ebb to flood. ME.
Times Before the tide turned the water was..rough in the Putney Reach.
verb intrans. Go or come back. ME-L16.
b. verb trans. Give or send back. L16-M17.
verb trans. Cause (the stomach) to be nauseated. M16.
A. Haley It turned his stomach to watch..swine..being butchered.
b. verb intrans. Of the stomach: be nauseated. E18.
J. Gardner The smell of formaldehyde made his stomach turn.
IV. Senses connected with II and III, with the direction or destination prominent.
a. verb trans. Change the direction of; direct (esp. the eyes or face) another way. ME.
G. Greene She turned her head and stared in my direction.
b. verb intrans. & (arch.) refl. Change one's position so as to face in a different or the opposite direction. ME.
G. Vidal I turned to go inside. Scott Fitzgerald She..turned..and sped back the way she had come. I. Murdoch Turning every now and then to look back at him. P. P. Read She..smiled, turned and went down stairs.
verb trans. & intrans. (Cause to) move so as to face or be directed towards or away from a specified (or implied) person or thing. ME.
E. Allen Others stand with their bodies turned away from the pitcher. G. Vidal Suddenly a spotlight was turned upon the stage. Lyndon B. Johnson I turned to John McCone and asked what his reports..indicated. P. D. James Barbara Berowne turned on him her remarkable eyes. V. Glendinning Heads turned..as he emerged from the lift.
b. verb intrans. Face (in a specified direction). rare. M16-E17.
verb trans. & intrans. (Cause to) go in a specified direction. Now chiefly of footsteps. ME.
verb trans. fig. Direct (one's thoughts, attention, etc.) to or from. ME.
J. Agee Never turning their attention from their work. A. J. Ayer Wittgenstein..turned his attention to other pursuits.
verb intrans. & (now rare) refl. Direct one's thoughts, attention, etc., to or from; spec. (foll. by to) begin to consider or speak of something else. ME.
M. Maartens She turned from the thought of scandal with impatience. C. P. Snow His thoughts turned to more cheerful themes. G. K. Wolfe Critics of fantasy would turn to myth as an appropriate narrative model.
b. verb intrans. Go to (a page, passage, etc., in a book) by turning the pages. M17.
K. S. Macquoid He took up a local paper and turned to the list of visitors.
c. verb intrans. Apply oneself to or take up an occupation or pursuit. M17.
d. verb intrans. Resort or have recourse to; appeal to for help etc. E19.
A. Briggs She had to turn to Parliament for financial support. P. Mailloux Kafka's one close friend, the person he turned to in times of trouble.
verb trans.
a. Convert to or to a (different) religion. ME-L17.
b. Induce or persuade (a person) to act as a spy or informer. M20.
verb intrans.
a. Adopt a different religion; be converted. arch. ME.
b. Go over to another side or party. arch. ME.
c. Become an informer. L20.
verb trans. Cause to recoil or have an adverse result on; use against. ME.
T. Parks Two old disappointed people..turning their frustrations on us.
b. verb intrans. Recoil or have an adverse result on. Now rare or obsolete. LME.
G. Burnet The Dutch war had turned so fatally on the king.
verb trans. Put to a specified use or purpose. ME.
Bacon Virgil, turning his pen to the advantage of his country. C. P. Snow He had foreseen the danger..: he had also forseen how to turn it to his own use.
b. Set to work on. L18.
verb intrans. Become hostile towards (foll. by against, on, upon); attack (foll. by on, upon). LME.
M. Keane She could have turned on him and told him he didn't know what he was talking about. D. Athill I would suddenly turn against the very people who loved me.
b. verb trans. Make hostile towards. Foll. by against. M19.
D. G. Phillips 'You've turned him against me!' cried the girl.
verb trans. Cause to go; send, drive. Usu. foll. by adverb. E16.
F. Burney You will not..turn me from your door. V. S. Reid He turns the goats and pigs into the open.
b. Put or convey into a receptacle, esp. by inverting the containing vessel. L16.
E. David When your spaghetti is ready,..turn it into a big..dish.
V. Change, alter.
verb trans. & intrans. Change; make or become different; substitute (a thing) for something else of the same kind. Now rare exc. as in senses below. ME.
Shakespeare Merchant of Venice Some dear friend dead, else nothing..Could turn so much the constitution Of any constant man. Pope Things change their titles, as our manners turn. M. Howard As soon as the weather turns they go down there.
verb trans. & intrans. Foll. by into, to: change in nature, form, or condition; transform; convert. ME.
E. M. Forster I turned the old kitchen into a hall. E. Waugh His anger softened and turned to shame. J. Barth Three of us turned into chronic alcoholics. R. J. Conley They can turn into owls or dogs or..anything they want to. Anne Stevenson Fictional material suitable for turning into film scripts.
b. verb trans. Translate into another language; put into another form of expression. Also, word differently. ME.
verb intrans. With adjective or noun compl.: become. ME.
N. Shute The evening was turning chilly. H. McLeave Every time Lord Blye turned nasty..her consumption of petit fours..soared. I. Melchior Himmler had turned traitor! J. Barzun Georges Sorel, the engineer turned social theorist. H. Norman He's tall with hair that's turning grey.
b. verb trans. With adjective or noun compl.: make, cause to become. rare. E17.
Shakespeare Timon of Athens It almost turns my dangerous nature mild. Pope That gay Free-thinker,..What turns him now a stupid silent dunce?
verb intrans. Foll. by to; lead to as a consequence; result in. ME-L18.
Goldsmith Any general theory that shall turn to public benefit.
b. verb trans. Result in trouble, harm, etc., for (a person). Foll. by to. ME-E17.
Shakespeare Coriolanus A word or two; The which shall turn you to no further harm.
verb trans. Bring into a specified condition. LME-E17.
verb trans. Foll. by into, to: make the subject of praise, mockery, etc. Now only in turn into ridicule. LME.
a. verb trans. Orig., curdle (milk). Later, cause (milk) to sour or go off. M16.
fig.: Defoe This..turned the very blood within my veins.
b. verb intrans. Orig., curdle; later, (of food, esp. milk) go off. L16.
L. Hellman The fish was turning,..enough to make us carry it out to the street. W. Abish But there is milk. It's turned, Ulrich said.
verb intrans. Of fruit, leaves, etc.: change colour. L16.
M. Atwood It's..September; the leaves are already turning.
b. verb trans. Change the colour of. L18.
Phrases: a worm will turn: see WORM noun. not know which way to turn, not know where to turn be completely at a loss, be unsure how to act etc. not turn a hair: see HAIR noun. turn a blind eye (to): see BLIND adjective. turn a deaf ear (to): see DEAF adjective 3. turn an honest penny: see HONEST adjective. turn a person's head, turn a person's brain make a person conceited or mad. turn a profit N. Amer. make a profit. turn bridle turn one's horse and ride back. turn cat in pan: see CAT noun1. turn colour (now rare) change colour; (of a person) become pale or red in the face. turn geese into swans: see GOOSE noun. turn in one's grave: see GRAVE noun1 1. turn inside out: see INSIDE noun 2. turn into ridicule: see sense 36 above. turn loose (a) set free (an animal) and allow to go loose; transf. allow (a person) to go where, or do as, he or she will; (b) US dial. let go (of). turn on a sixpence, (N. Amer.) turn on a dime (of a motor vehicle) make a sharp turning, turn within a narrow radius, have a small turning-circle. turn one's back on: see BACK noun1. turn one's coat: see COAT noun 1. turn one's face to the wall: see WALL noun1. turn one's girdle: see GIRDLE noun1 1. turn one's hand to: see HAND noun. turn on one's heel: see HEEL noun1. turn on the heat: see HEAT noun 15. turn over a new leaf: see LEAF noun1 6. turn round one's finger, turn round one's little finger: see FINGER noun. turn sides to middle: see SIDE noun. turn tail: see TAIL noun1. turn the cat in the pan: see CAT noun1. turn the corner: see CORNER noun 2. turn the other cheek: see CHEEK noun. turn the scale(s): see SCALE noun1. turn the screw(s): see SCREW noun1. turn the tables (on): see TABLE noun. turn the tide fig. reverse the trend of events. turn the trick: see TRICK noun. turn to account: see turn to good account below. turn to ashes: see ASH noun2. turn to good account, turn to account make use of for one's profit or advantage. turn Turk: see TURK noun1. turn turtle: see TURTLE noun2 1. turn up one's nose at: see NOSE noun. turn up one's toes: see TOE noun. turn up trumps: see TRUMP noun2.
With adverbs in specialized senses: (See also Phrases above.) turn about (a) rotate, revolve; (b) move so as to face or go in the opposite direction. turn again (a) (long arch.) face round the other way; (b) return; go back; fig. revert. turn around (chiefly N. Amer.) = turn round below. turn away (a) turn to face another direction, avert (one's face); (b) divert, avert; (c) send away, dismiss; (d) refuse to accept, reject. turn back (a) (obsolete exc. US) send or give back; (b) come or go back; (c) fold back; (see also senses 16, 17 above). turn down (a) fold or bend down; transf. fold back the sheets etc. of (a bed); (b) admit of being folded down; (c) turn upside down, invert; (d) (obsolete exc. US) put down to a lower position in a class; (e) reject (a proposal, application, etc.); (f) put (game etc.) in a place to increase stocks; (g) reduce the volume of sound from (a radio etc.), or the intensity of heat or light from (a heater, cooker, lamp, etc.), by means of a knob; reduce the volume of (sound) or the intensity of (heat or light) in this way; reduce the temperature at which (food) is being cooked; (h) (of economic activity) decline, worsen. turn in (a) hand in or over; (b) give or produce (a performance or result of a specified kind); (c) colloq. abandon (a plan etc.); (d) Agriculture dig or plough (weeds, manure, etc.) into the ground; (e) fold or bend inwards; (f) (cause to) point inwards; (g) colloq. (orig. Nautical) go to bed in the evening. turn off (a) dismiss, spec. from employment; Austral. send (livestock) to market; (b) slang hang on a gallows; joc. marry; (c) deflect, divert; spec. divert attention from; (d) leave a main road or route to take a side-road etc.; (of a side-road) lead off from another road; (e) stop the flow of (water, gas, electricity, etc.) by means of a tap, switch, etc.; stop the operation of (an electrical device etc.) in this way; operate (a tap, switch, etc.) to achieve this; (f) colloq. repel; cause to lose interest; (g) = turn out (e) below; (h) (now dial.) (of food) go off; (i) arch. become. turn on (a) start the flow of (water, gas, electricity, etc.) by means of a tap, switch, etc.; start the operation of (an electrical device etc.) in this way; operate (a tap, switch, etc.) to achieve this; turn it on, make a particular effort, esp. to be charming; (b) colloq. excite, interest; esp. arouse sexually; (c) slang intoxicate with or introduce to drugs; (d) slang become intoxicated with drugs; (foll. by to) become interested in. turn out (a) cause to go or come out; expel; Military call (a guard) from the guardroom; (b) put (an animal) out to pasture or into the open; (c) empty out (the contents of a receptacle, room, etc.); clear out (a room etc.); empty (a pocket) to see the contents; (d) extinguish (an electric light etc.) by means of a switch etc.; (e) produce or manufacture, esp. rapidly; (f) dress, equip; (g) go or come out; esp. (of a crowd etc.) assemble, attend a meeting etc.; (h) colloq. get out of bed; (i) Austral. slang become a bush-ranger; (j) (foll. by noun or adjective compl., that, to be) prove to be, result; (k) (cause to) point outwards. turn out of (a) expel or eject from; (b) empty out of (a vessel) by inverting it; (c) get out of. turn over (a) turn on to one side, or from one side to the other, or upside down; bring the under or reverse side (of) into view; (b) (cause to) fall over; (c) (of an engine etc.) start running; (d) cause (an engine etc.) to start running; (e) transfer the care of (a person or thing) to; spec. (arch.) transfer (an apprentice) to another master; (f) Commerce invest and realize; do business to the amount of; (g) slang ransack; (h) colloq. upset; affect with nausea; (i) Printing carry over (a letter, part of a word, etc.) to the next line; (j) N. Amer. Sport lose possession of (the ball) to the opposing team; (k) arch. hang on a gallows; (see also sense 7b). turn round (a) (cause to) revolve on an axis or centre; (b) turn so as to face in the opposite direction; (c) fig. change to the opposite opinion etc.; (d) Commerce unload and reload (a ship, vehicle, etc.); (e) receive, process, and send out again; cause to progress through a system. turn to set to work. turn up (a) (cause to) point or bend upwards; (b) arch. turn upside down, invert; (c) increase the width of (a hem); shorten (a garment, or part of a garment) by increasing the width of the hem or by making a hem; (d) dig or plough (soil etc.) so as to bring the under parts to the surface; bring (something buried) to the surface by digging etc; (e) turn (a card) face upwards; (f) arch. look up or refer to (a passage, book, etc.); (g) colloq. cause to gag or vomit; (h) increase the volume of sound from (a radio etc.), or the intensity of heat or light from (a heater, cooker, lamp, etc.), by means of a knob; increase the volume of (sound) or intensity of (heat or light) in this way; increase the temperature at which (food) is being cooked; (i) (now slang) set free, release; (j) (now slang) give up, renounce; (k) Nautical summon (the crew) on deck; (l) Nautical tack; (m) happen; present itself casually or unexpectedly; (of a person) put in an appearance, arrive; (n) be found; (o) discover, reveal; (p) (with compl.) produce, result in; (q) be a prostitute.
With prepositions in specialized senses: turn after take after, resemble.
Comb.: turnagain (a) a revolution; a deviation; (b) rare = ANTISTROPHE 2; turn-and-bank, turn-and-slip adjectives & nouns (Aeronautics) (designating) an indicator which shows a pilot the rate of turn and margin of error in banking; turnaround (chiefly N. Amer.) (a) = turn-round below; (b) a space for vehicles to turn round in, esp. at the end of a drive etc.; (c) a point in a team game at which the teams change ends; turnaway noun & adjective (a) noun the action or an act of turning away or deviating from a course etc.; (b) adjective (of a crowd) so large that part of it has to be turned away; turn-beam the drum of a windlass; turn-bench a watchmaker's portable lathe; turn-bolt a rotating bolt; turn-bridge a swing-bridge; turnbroach arch. a person employed to turn a spit, a turnspit; turn-buckle (a) a thin flat bar which pivots into a groove to fasten a window, shutter, etc.; (b) a device for tightly connecting parts of a metal rod or for coupling electric wires; (c) Nautical a screw used for tightening rigging; turn-button a small pivoting bar on a frame etc., keeping something in place but allowing easy removal; turn-cap a revolving chimney top; turncock (a) a stop-cock; (b) Hist. an official responsible for turning on the water from the mains to supply-pipes etc.; turn-crowned adjective (of a domestic pigeon) having the feathers on the crown reversed; turn-furrow the mould-board of a plough; turn-in (a) an edge of material that is folded inwards; spec. the part of a book's binding which shows along the edges of the inside covers; (b) an entrance, a drive; turn indicator (a) Aeronautics a device which indicates whether an aircraft is deviating from a straight course; (b) = INDICATOR 3c; turn-mark a buoy or boat round which yachts turn in racing; turn-on (a) the action or an act of causing something to start operation; (b) colloq. a person who or thing which causes (esp. sexual) arousal; turn-pin (a) a pivot; (b) a conical plug for stopping or enlarging the end of a pipe; turn-plough a plough with a mould-board; turn-round (a) the process of unloading and reloading a ship, vehicle, etc.; the time taken for this; (b) the process of receiving, processing, and sending out again; progress through a system; (c) the reversal of an opinion, trend, etc.; turn-row US a space at the side of a field where horses turn in ploughing, used as a path; turn-screw a screwdriver; turn signal N. Amer. = INDICATOR 3c; turntable (a) a circular revolving platform laid with rails connecting with adjacent tracks, for turning a railway locomotive or other vehicle; (b) a circular revolving plate on which a gramophone record is placed to be played; the unit housing this plate; (c) any similar revolving platform or stand; turn-to a tussle, a set-to; turn-tree = turn-beam above; turn-under the curving in of a carriage-body towards the bottom; turnwrest plough: in which the mould-board may be shifted from one side to the other at the end of each furrow, so that the furrow-slice is always thrown the same way.
turnable adjective (rare) able to be turned L15.