turn

—turnable, adj.

/terrn/, v.t.

1. to cause to move around on an axis or about a center; rotate: to turn a wheel.

2. to cause to move around or partly around, as for the purpose of opening, closing, or tightening: to turn a key; to turn the cap of a jar.

3. to reverse the position or placement of: to turn a page; to turn an egg; to turn a person around.

4. to bring the lower layers of (sod, soil, etc.) to the surface, as in plowing.

5. to change the position of, by or as if by rotating; move into a different position: to turn the handle one notch.

6. to change or alter the course of; divert; deflect: He turned the blow with his arm.

7. to change the focus or tendency of: She skillfully turned the conversation away from so unpleasant a subject.

8. to reverse the progress of; cause to retreat: The police turned the advancing rioters by firing over their heads.

9. to change or alter the nature, character, or appearance of: Worry turned his hair gray.

10. to change or convert (usually fol. by into or to): to turn water into ice; to turn tears into laughter.

11. to render or make by some change: Fear turned him cowardly and craven.

12. to change the color of (leaves).

13. to cause to become sour, to ferment, or the like: Warm weather turns milk.

14. to cause (the stomach) to reject food, liquid, etc.; affect with nausea.

15. to change from one language or form of expression to another; translate.

16. to put or apply to some use or purpose: He turned his mind to practical matters.

17. to go or pass around or to the other side of: to turn a street corner.

18. to get beyond or pass (a certain age, time, amount, etc.): His son just turned four.

19. to direct, aim, or set toward, away from, or in a specified direction: to turn the car toward the center of town; to turn one's back to the audience.

20. to direct (the eyes, face, etc.) another way; avert.

21. to shape (a piece of metal, wood, etc.) into rounded form with a cutting tool while rotating the piece on a lathe.

22. to bring into a rounded or curved form in any way.

23. to shape artistically or gracefully, esp. in rounded form.

24. to form or express gracefully: to turn a phrase well.

25. to direct (thought, attention, desire, etc.) toward or away from something.

26. to cause to go; send; drive: to turn a person from one's door.

27. to revolve in the mind; ponder (often fol. by over): He turned the idea over a couple of times before acting on it.

28. to persuade (a person) to change or reorder the course of his or her life.

29. to cause to be prejudiced against: to turn a son against his father.

30. to maintain a steady flow or circulation of (money or articles of commerce).

31. to earn or gain: He turned a huge profit on the sale.

32. to reverse or remake (a garment, shirt collar, etc.) so that the inner side becomes the outer.

33. to pour from one container into another by inverting.

34. to curve, bend, or twist.

35. to twist out of position or sprain; wrench: He turned his ankle.

36. to bend back or blunt (the edge of a blade).

37. to perform (a gymnastic feat) by rotating or revolving: to turn a somersault.

38. to disturb the mental balance of; distract; derange.

39. to disorder or upset the placement or condition of: He turned the room upside down.

40. Obs.

a. to convert.

b. to pervert.

v.i.

41. to move around on an axis or about a center; rotate.

42. to move partly around through the arc of a circle, as a door on a hinge.

43. to hinge or depend (usually fol. by on or upon): The question turns on this point.

44. to direct or set one's course toward, away from, or in a particular direction.

45. to direct the face or gaze toward or away from someone or something.

46. to direct one's thought, attention, desire, etc., toward or away from someone or something.

47. to give or apply one's interest, attention, effort, etc., to something; pursue: He turned to the study and practice of medicine.

48. to change or reverse a course so as to go in a different or the opposite direction: to turn to the right.

49. to change position so as to face in a different or the opposite direction.

50. to change or reverse position or posture as by a rotary motion.

51. to shift the body about as if on an axis: to turn on one's side while sleeping.

52. to assume a curved form; bend.

53. to become blunted or dulled by bending, as the cutting edge of a knife or saw.

54. to be affected with nausea, as the stomach.

55. to be affected with giddiness or dizziness; have a sensation of whirling or reeling.

56. to adopt religion, a manner of life, etc., esp. as differing from a previous position or attitude: He turned to Christianity in his old age.

57. to change or transfer one's loyalties; defect: He turned from the Democrats and joined the Republicans.

58. to change an attitude or policy: to turn in favor of someone; to turn against a person.

59. to change or alter, as in nature, character, or appearance.

60. to become sour, rancid, fermented, or the like, as milk or butter.

61. to change color: The leaves began to turn in October.

62. to change so as to be; become: a lawyer turned poet; to turn pale.

63. to become mentally unbalanced or distracted.

64. to put about or tack, as a ship.

65. Journalism. (of copy) to run either from the bottom of the last column on one page to the top of the first column on the following page or from one column on a page to the expected place in the next column on the page (opposed to jump).

66. turn back,

a. to retrace one's footsteps; turn around to return.

b. to cause to go no further or to return, as by not welcoming; send away.

c. to fold (a blanket, sheet of paper, etc.) on itself: Turn back the page to keep the place.

67. turn down,

a. to turn over; fold down.

b. to lower in intensity; lessen.

c. to refuse or reject (a person, request, etc.): The Marine Corps turned him down.

68. turn in,

a. to hand in; submit: to turn in a resignation.

b. to inform on or deliver up: She promptly turned him in to the police.

c. to turn from one path or course into another; veer.

d. Informal. to go to bed; retire: I never turn in before eleven o'clock.

69. turn into,

a. to drive a vehicle or to walk into (a street, store, etc.): We turned into the dead-end street. He turned into the saloon at the corner.

b. to be changed, transformed, or converted into: He has turned into a very pleasant fellow. The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.

70. turn off,

a. to stop the flow of (water, gas, etc.), as by closing a faucet or valve.

b. to extinguish (a light).

c. to divert; deflect.

d. to diverge or branch off, as a side road from a main road.

e. to drive a vehicle or walk onto (a side road) from a main road: You turn off at 96th Street. Turn off the highway on the dirt road.

f. Slang. to stop listening: You could see him turn off as the speaker droned on.

g. Slang. to disaffect, alienate, or disgust.

h. Chiefly Brit. to discharge an employee.

71. turn on,

a. to cause (water, gas, etc.) to flow, as by opening a valve.

b. to switch on (a light).

c. to put into operation; activate.

d. to start suddenly to affect or show: She turned on the charm and won him over.

e. Slang. to induce (a person) to start taking a narcotic drug.

f. Slang. to take a narcotic drug.

g. Slang. to arouse or excite the interest of; engage: the first lecture that really turned me on.

h. Slang. to arouse sexually.

i. Also, turn upon. to become suddenly hostile to: The dog turned on its owner.

72. turn one's hand to. See hand (def. 74).

73. turn out,

a. to extinguish (a light).

b. to produce as the result of labor: She turned out four tapestries a year.

c. to drive out; dismiss; discharge: a premier turned out of office.

d. to fit out; dress; equip.

e. to result; issue.

f. to come to be; become ultimately.

g. to be found or known; prove.

h. to be present at; appear.

i. Informal. to get out of bed.

j. Naut. to order (a seaman or seamen) from quarters for duty.

k. to cause to turn outward, as the toes.

74. turn over,

a. to move or be moved from one side to another.

b. to put in reverse position; invert.

c. to consider; meditate; ponder.

d. to transfer; give.

e. to start (an engine): He turned over the car motor.

f. (of an engine) to start: The motor turned over without any trouble.

g. Com. to purchase and then sell (goods or commodities).

h. Com. to do business or sell goods to the amount of (a specified sum).

i. Com. to invest or recover (capital) in some transaction or in the course of business.

75. turn the tables. See table (def. 19).

76. turn the tide. See tide¹ (def. 12).

77. turn to,

a. to apply to for aid; appeal to: When he was starting out as an artist he turned to his friends for loans.

b. to begin to attend to or work at something: After the storm we turned to and cleaned up the debris.

c. to change to: The ice turned to water.

78. turn up,

a. to fold (material, a hem, cuffs, etc.) up or over in order to alter a garment.

b. to bring to the surface by digging: to turn up a shovelful of earth.

c. to uncover; find.

d. to intensify or increase.

e. to happen; occur: Let's wait and see what turns up.

f. to appear; arrive: She turned up at the last moment.

g. to be recovered: I'm sure your watch will turn up eventually.

h. to come to notice; be seen.

n.

79. a movement of partial or total rotation: a slight turn of the handle.

80. an act of changing or reversing position or posture, as by a rotary movement: a turn of the head.

81. a time or opportunity for action which comes in due rotation or order to each of a number of persons, animals, etc.: It's my turn to pay the bill.

82. an act of changing or reversing the course or direction: to make a turn to the right.

83. a place or point at which such a change occurs.

84. a place where a road, river, or the like turns; bend: About a mile ahead, you'll come to a turn in the road.

85. a single revolution, as of a wheel.

86. an act of turning so as to face or go in a different direction.

87. direction, drift, or trend: The conversation took an interesting turn.

88. any change, as in nature, character, condition, affairs, circumstances, etc.; alteration; modification: a turn for the better.

89. the point or time of change.

90. the time during which a worker or a set of workers is at work in alternation with others.

91. that which is done by each of a number of persons acting in rotation or succession.

92. rounded or curved form.

93. the shape or mold in which something is formed or cast.

94. a passing or twisting of one thing around another, as of a rope around a mast.

95. the state of or a manner of being twisted.

96. a single circular or convoluted shape, as of a coiled or wound rope.

97. a small latch operated by a turning knob or lever.

98. style, as of expression or language.

99. a distinctive form or style imparted: a happy turn of expression.

100. a short walk, ride, or the like out and back, esp. by different routes: Let's go for a turn in the park.

101. a natural inclination, bent, tendency, or aptitude: one's turn of mind.

102. a spell or period of work; shift.

103. a spell or bout of action or activity, esp. in wrestling.

104. an attack of illness or the like.

105. an act of service or disservice: He once did her a good turn. She repaid it with a bad turn.

106. requirement, exigency, or need: This will serve your turn.

107. treatment or rendering, esp. with reference to the form or content of a work of literature, art, etc.; twist: He gave the story a new turn.

108. Informal. a nervous shock, as from fright or astonishment: It certainly gave me quite a turn to see him.

109. Stock Exchange. a complete securities transaction that includes both a purchase and sale.

110. Music. a melodic embellishment or grace, commonly consisting of a principal tone with two auxiliary tones, one above and the other below it.

111. Chiefly Brit. an individual stage performance, esp. in a vaudeville theater or music hall.

112. Mil. a drill movement by which a formation changes fronts.

113. a contest or round; a bout, as in wrestling.

114. at every turn, in every case or instance; constantly: We met with kindness at every turn.

115. by turns, one after another; in rotation or succession; alternately: They did their shopping and cleaning by turns.

116. hand's turn, a period or piece of work: It won't be necessary for you to do a hand's turn yourself, but rather to supervise.

117. in turn, in due order of succession: Each generation in turn must grapple with the same basic problems.

118. on the turn, on the verge or in the process of turning; changing: She said she hoped to be alive to see the century on the turn.

119. out of turn,

a. not in the correct succession; out of proper order.

b. at an unsuitable time; imprudently; indiscreetly: He spoke out of turn and destroyed the cordial atmosphere of the meeting.

120. take turns, to succeed one another in order; rotate; alternate: They took turns walking the dog.

121. to a turn, to just the proper degree; to perfection: The steak was done to a turn.

122. turn and turn about or turn about, by turns: They fought the fire, turn and turn about, until daybreak.

[bef. 1000; (v.) ME turnen, partly continuing OE turnian, tyrnan < L tornare to turn in a lathe, round off (deriv. of tornus lathe < Gk tórnos tool for making circles), partly < OF torner, t(o)urner < L, as above; (n.) ME, partly deriv. of the v., partly < AF *torn, t(o)urn; OF tor, t(o)ur < L tornus, as above]

Syn. 9. metamorphose, transmute, transform. 23, 24. fashion, mold. 41. TURN, REVOLVE, ROTATE, SPIN indicate moving in a more or less rotary, circular fashion. TURN is the general and popular word for motion on an axis or around a center, but it is used also of motion that is less than a complete circle: A gate turns on its hinges. REVOLVE refers esp. to movement in an orbit around a center, but is sometimes exchangeable with ROTATE, which refers only to the motion of a body around its own center or axis: The moon revolves about the earth. The earth rotates on its axis.

To SPIN is to rotate very rapidly: A top spins. 79. spin, gyration, revolution. 88. deviation, bend, twist, vicissitude, variation. 101. talent, proclivity. TURN, CAST, TWIST are colloquial in use and imply a bent, inclination, or habit. TURN means a tendency or inclination for something: a turn for art. CAST means an established habit of thought, manner, or style: a melancholy cast. TWIST means a bias: a strange twist of thought.

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