Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - turn

~1 v CHANGE DIRECTION/POSITION 1 a) »YOUR BODY« to move your body so that you are looking in a different direction  (Ricky turned and walked away.) + around/round/away etc  (I turned around quickly to see if someone was following. | Dan turned away so Brody couldn't see the fear in his eyes.) turn to do sth  (She turned to look back at him as she got on the plane. | He turned to face Kim with tears in his eyes. | turn on your heel (=turn away suddenly))  (Brigitte glared at him, turned on her heel, and stomped out of the room.) b) »OBJECT« to move something so that it is pointing or aiming in a different direction  (Turn the vase so the crack doesn't show. | The firemen turned the hose on the burning building. | turn sth to face sth)  (I turned the chair to face him and began to talk.) 2 »ROAD/RIVER/PATH ETC« to curve in a particular direction  (The river turns east and flows down out of the mountains. | a small path twisting and turning through the woods) 3 »MOVE AROUND CENTRAL POINT« to move around a central or fixed point, or make something move in this way  (The wheel creaked as it turned. | turn sth)  (Turn the handle as far as it will go to the right.) COLOUR 4 »OBJECT« linking verb to become a different colour  (The clothes all turned pink in the wash. | The leaves turned red, orange, and yellow in the autumn air.) 5 »PERSON« linking verb if a person turns a particular colour, their skin looks that colour because they feel ill, embarrassed etc  (Vy turned white when she saw all the blood on the floor. | Every time Inge speaks to Hans, he turns bright red.) 6 »HAIR« linking verb if your hair turns grey or white, it becomes that colour because you are getting older  (Her face was lined and her hair was already turning grey.) AGE/TIME 7 »AGE« linking verb if someone turns a particular age, they become that age  ("How old is Dennis?" "He's just turned 40.") 8 »TIME« linking verb if it has turned a particular time, that time has just passed  ("What time is it?" "It's just turned 3:00.") »CHANGE« 9 turn nasty/mean/violent etc to suddenly become angry, violent etc  (One day the dog just turned nasty and bit me. | The police are worried that the situation could turn violent.) 10 turn cold/nasty if the weather turns cold or nasty, it suddenly becomes cold, unpleasant etc  (The forecast says it's going to turn nasty.) 11 »ACTIVITY« to stop one activity and start something completely different  (Our laughter turned to horror when we realized Jody really was hurt. | Many people here have turned to solar power as an alternative to electricity.) 12 actor turned politician/football player turned author etc someone who has done one job and then does something completely different 13 turn traitor to be disloyal to a person, group, or idea that you have strongly supported before  (Ramirez's lieutenant turned traitor and told the military where he was hiding.) »PAGE« 14 if you turn a page in a book, you move it so that you can read the next page  (- see also turn to turn1) »VEHICLE« 15 if you turn a vehicle or it turns, it changes direction + into/off/left/righ  (Turn left at the next light. | The car in front of me turned into a driveway. | turn sth around/into)  (Jason turned the car around while I brought the suitcases.) »OTHER MEANINGS« 16 »INJURY« if you turn your ankle, you twist it in a way that injures it; sprain  (Is it bad? No, I just turned my ankle on the step.) 17 »MILK« dfd if milk turns, it becomes sour 18 turn your back (on) a) to refuse to help or give sympathy to someone when they need it  (How can you turn your back on your own mother?) b) to deliberately stop being involved in something that used to be very important for you  (Isn't it hard to turn your back on tennis after so many years at the top?) c) to turn so that your back is pointing towards someone or something  (He turned his back on her and spoke quietly into the phone. | As soon as you turn your back on these kids, they're acting like maniacs again!) 19 turn sth inside out a) to pull a piece of clothing, bag etc so that the inside is facing outwards  (Just turn the bag inside out to make sure there's nothing left in it.) b) also turn sth upside down to search everywhere for something, in a way that makes a place very untidy  (The thieves had turned the house upside down looking for the papers.) 20 turn (people's) heads if something turns people's heads, they are surprised by it  (Yes, it did turn a few heads when he moved back to the village.) 21 turn sb's head to be attractive in a romantic or sexual way to a particular person  (You mean that horrible old man actually managed to turn Jo's head?) 22 have turned the corner to have done the most difficult part of something, so that the rest looks fairly easy  (- see also turn a blind eye blind1 (2), turn the other cheek cheek1 (6), sb would turn in their grave grave1 (3), not turn a hair hair (8), turn your hand to hand1 (10), turn over a new leaf leaf1 (3), turn your nose up (at) nose1 (6), turn the tables (on sb) table1 (5), turn tail tail1 (8)) turn sb against sb/sth phr v to decide or make someone decide not to like someone any more or not to agree with something any more  (After the divorce, Dave accused Christina of turning the kids against him.) turn around also turn round BrE phr v 1 T turn something round) to complete the process of making a product or providing a service  (We can turn around a batch of 50 pressings in two hours.) 2 T turn something round) to manage an unsuccessful business so well that it becomes successful again  (In under three years she had completely turned the company around.) 3 turn around and say/tell spoken to tell someone something that they think is unfair or unreasonable  (I complained about it but they just turned round and said it was my own fault.) turn away phr v 1 T turn someone away) to refuse to let someone into a place such as a theatre, cinema etc, because there is no more space  (They turned about 1000 people away at the Arena because all the tickets were gone.) 2 to refuse to give someone sympathy, help, or support  (Europe cannot in good conscience turn away from these refugees. | turn sb away)  (I can't turn her away. She's my brother's child.) turn back phr v 1 to go in the opposite direction  (It was late afternoon when we finally decided it was time to turn back. | One of the boats had to turn back because it was taking in water.) 2 T turn someone back) to tell someone to go in the opposite direction, often because there is danger ahead  (We were turned back at the border because of the fighting.) 3 turn back the clock a) if you want to turn back the clock, you wish you had the chance to do something again so you could do it better  ("I'd like to be able to turn back the clock and make things right with Brett," said Gloria.) b) to do something the way it was done at an earlier time, especially when that is worse than the way it is done now  (legislation that turns back the clock on human rights) turn down phr v 1 (turn something down) to make a machine such as an oven, radio etc produce less heat, sound etc  (Can you please turn the TV down? I can't hear myself think!) 2 (turn someone/something down) to refuse an offer, request, or invitation  (Pauline's turned down offers from several different law firms. | Jimmy offered to marry her again, but she'd already turned him down three times.)  (- see refuse1) turn in phr v 1 T turn something in) to give something back to the person that owns it, especially when it has been lost or borrowed  (Make sure to turn your security badge in before you leave the company.)  (My wallet was turned in to the police two days after it was stolen.) 2 T turn something in) especially AmE to give a piece of work to a teacher, your boss etc  (Have you all turned in your homework from last night?) 3 T turn someone in) to tell the police who or where a criminal is  (Margrove's wife finally turned him in after months of silence.) 4 to go to bed  (Well, I think I'll turn in. I've got to get up early.) turn into sth phr v 1 to become something different, or make someone or something do this  (turn into sth)  (In a few weeks, the caterpillar will turn into a butterfly. | The sofa turns into a bed. | turn sth into sth)  (Lieutenant, do you have to turn everything into a question? | turn sb into sth)  (You'll never turn me into a salesman, Dad. I'm not made for it.) 2 to change by magic from one thing into another, or make something do this  (turn into sth)  (In a flash of light, the prince turned into a frog. | turn sb/sth into sth)  (The fairy godmother turned the pumpkin into a coach.) 3 if one season turns into another season, it changes gradually from one to the next  (The snows melted, and winter turned into spring.) 4 days turned into weeks/months turned into years etc used to say that time passed slowly while you waited for something to happen  (Weeks turned into months, and still there was no letter from Renata.)  (- see become) turn off phr v 1 T turn something off) to stop the supply of water, gas etc from flowing by turning a handle or tap as far as it will go  (Turn off the hot water. | They've turned the gas off for a couple of hours.) 2 T turn something off) to make a machine or piece of electrical equipment such as a television, car, light etc stop operating by pushing a button, turning a key etc  (Don't forget to turn the lights off when you leave. | Turn the TV off now.) 3 to leave one road, especially a large one, and drive along another one  (turn off at/near etc)  (I'm sure we should have turned off at the last exit. | turn off sth)  (Gill turned off the A10 and started heading West.)  (- see also turn­off) 4 T turn someone off) to do something that makes someone decide they do not like something  (Don't oversell the product. If your salespeople are pushy they'll turn the customer off.) 5 T turn someone off) to do something that makes someone feel that they are not attracted to you in a sexual way  (It really turns me off when Richard wears his smelly socks to bed.) turn on phr v 1 T turn something on) to make the supply of water, gas etc start flowing from something by turning a handle or tap1 (1)  (I turned the water on in the shower. | We'll be turning on the gas in about an hour.) 2 T turn something on) to make a machine or piece of electrical equipment such as a car, television, light etc start operating by pushing a button, turning a key etc  (Could you turn on the light, please? | When I turned the engine on it made a funny noise.)  (- see open2) 3 T turn on someone) to suddenly attack someone or treat them badly, using physical violence or unpleasant words  (Peter turned on Rae with eyes blazing and screamed, "Get out of my sight!") 4 T turn on something) if a situation, event, argument turns on a particular thing or idea, it depends on that thing in order to work  (The negotiations turned on getting the Italian delegation to agree.) 5 T turn someone on) to make someone feel sexually excited  (A lot of guys are turned on by the idea of women in uniform.)  (- see also turn­on) 6 T turn someone on to something) to make someone become interested in a product, idea etc  (Mark's that friend of mine who turned me on to classical music.) turn out phr v 1 linking verb to happen in a particular way, or to have a particular result, especially one that you did not expect  (I hate the way my hair turned out. The colour's all wrong. | Don't worry, I'm sure it will all turn out fine. | it turns out that)  (It turned out that she didn't get the job in the end. | turn out to be)  (That guy we met turned out to be Maria's second cousin. | His statement turned out to be false.) 2 T turn something out) if you turn out a light, you stop the flow of electricity to it by pushing a button, pulling a string etc  (Don't forget to turn out the lights when you go!) 3 T turn someone out) to force someone to leave a place  (Benjamin turned his son out of the house without any money.) 4 if people turn out for an event, they gather together to see it happen  (Crowds of people turned out to watch the filming of the final scene of Rocky.)  (- see also turnout) 5 T turn something out) to produce or make something  (The factory turns out 300 units a day.) 6 well/beautifully/badly turned out to be dressed in good, beautiful etc clothes  (elegantly turned-out young ladies) turn over phr v 1 T turn someone over to someone) to bring a criminal to the police or other official organization  (The FBI caught Rostov and turned him over to the CIA.) 2 T turn something over to someone) to give someone the right to own or the responsibility for something such as a plan, business, piece of property etc  (I'm turning the shop over to my son when I retire. | When you leave, the project will be turned over to Mathias.) 3 T turn over something) if a business turns over a particular amount of money, it makes that amount in a particular period of time  (We were turning over $1500 a week when business was good.) 4 BrE to turn a page in a book or a sheet of paper to the opposite side 5 BrE to change the channel1 (1) on a television  (I hate this programme. Can we please turn over?) 6 turn sth over in your mind to think about something carefully, considering all the possibilities  (I turned Zeke's comments over in my mind for a long time that night.) turn to phr v 1 T turn to someone/something) to try to get help, advice, or sympathy from someone or by doing something  (Nobody seems to understand. I don't know who to turn to. | Paul turned to drink (=drinking alcohol))  (to try to forget his problems at work.) 2 T turn to something) to look at a particular page in a book  (Turn to page 655 for more information on this subject.) 3 turn your attention/thoughts/efforts etc to sth to begin to think about or do something different from what you have been doing 4 old-fashioned to begin to work hard  (We'll really have to turn to in order to finish this on time.) turn up phr v 1 T turn something up) to make a machine such as an oven, radio etc produce more heat, sound etc  (Turn the oven up to 220°C. | Turn up the radio!) 2 to suddenly appear after having been lost or searched for  (I couldn't find my watch for ages, but then one day it turned up in a coat pocket.) 3 to arrive at a place  (Steven turned up late as usual.) 4 if an opportunity or situation turns up, it happens, especially when you are not expecting it  (Don't worry, I'm sure a job will turn up soon.) 5 T turn something up) to find something by thoroughly searching for it  (The police investigation hasn't turned up any new evidence.) 6 T turn something up) BrE to shorten a skirt, trousers etc by folding up the bottom and sewing it  (- see also come up trumps/turn up trumps trump1 (3)) turn upon sb phr v to suddenly attack someone or treat them badly, using physical violence or unpleasant words ~2 n 1 it is sb's turn if it is your turn to do something, it is the time when you can or should do it, because you are one of a number of people doing the same activity in a particular order  (It's your turn. Roll the dice. | sb's turn to do sth)  (I think it's our turn to drive the kids to school this week.) 2 take turns also take it in turns BrE if many people take turns doing work or playing a game, they each do it one after the other in order to share work or play fairly  (You'll have to take turns being captain of the team. | take turns doing sth)  (We took turns doing the driving on the way up to Canada. | take turns to do sth)  (brainstorming sessions where we all took turns to throw in ideas) 3 in turn a) as a result of something  (Interest rates were cut, and in turn, share prices rose.) b) one after the other, especially in a particular order  (He asked each of us in turn to describe how alcohol had affected our lives.) 4 »VEHICLE« the act of changing direction in a vehicle, or making it do this  (make a left/right turn)  (Make a left turn after the bank.) 5 »ACT OF TURNING STH« the act of turning something completely around a fixed point  (Tighten it another two or three turns.) 6 »ROAD« the place where one road goes in a different direction from another  (According to the map, we missed our turn back there at the light.) 7 the turn of the century the beginning of a century  (At the turn of the century, new technologies will already be in place.) 8 take a turn for the worse/better to suddenly become worse or better  (Paul's health took a turn for the worse on Tuesday.) 9 turn of events a change in what is happening, especially an unusual one  (The General's agreement to the peace talks is a welcome but unexpected turn of events..) 10 turn of phrase a) a particular way of saying something; expression  (I've never liked that turn of phrase - when people say `I won't detain you any longer'.) b) the ability to say things in a clever or funny way  (Kate has a witty turn of phrase.) 11 on the turn a) if the tide is on the turn, it is starting to come in or go out b) starting to change, or in the process of changing  (I began to think that maybe my luck was on the turn.) c) especially BrE if milk, fish, or other food is on the turn, it is starting to become sour 12 speak out of turn to say something you should not say in a particular situation, especially because you do not have enough authority to say it  (I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, sir, but I don't think this is the best way to proceed.) 13 do sb a good/bad turn to do something that is helpful or unhelpful for someone  (You'll be doing me a good turn by driving Max home tonight.) 14 at every turn if something happens at every turn, it happens again and again  (We were frustrated at every turn in our efforts to get money for the project.) 15 by turns if someone shows different feelings or qualities by turns, they change from one to another  (That evening he was silly, witty, and mournful by turns.) 16 turn of mind literary the way that someone usually thinks or feels  (He was of a melancholy turn of mind.) 17 done/cooked to a turn to be perfectly cooked 18 one good turn deserves another used to say that if someone does something nice for you, you should do something nice for them to thank them 19 take a turn in/on etc old-fashioned to walk somewhere just for pleasure  (I think they're out taking a turn in the gardens.) 20 give sb a turn old-fashioned to frighten someone 21 have a turn BrE old-fashioned to feel slightly ill or faint