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turn - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'turn' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Turn [ n.]
- The act of turning; movement or motion about, or as if about, a center or axis; revolution; as, the turn of a wheel.
- Change of direction, course, or tendency; different order, position, or aspect of affairs; alteration; vicissitude; as, the turn of the tide.
- One of the successive portions of a course, or of a series of occurrences, reckoning from change to change; hence, a winding; a bend; a meander.
- A circuitous walk, or a walk to and fro, ending where it began; a short walk; a stroll.
- Successive course; opportunity enjoyed by alternation with another or with others, or in due order; due chance; alternate or incidental occasion; appropriate time.
- Incidental or opportune deed or office; occasional act of kindness or malice; as, to do one an ill turn.
- Convenience; occasion; purpose; exigence; as, this will not serve his turn.
- Form; cast; shape; manner; fashion; -- used in a literal or figurative sense; hence, form of expression; mode of signifying; as, the turn of thought; a man of a sprightly turn in conversation.
- A change of condition; especially, a sudden or recurring symptom of illness, as a nervous shock, or fainting spell; as, a bad turn.
- A fall off the ladder at the gallows; a hanging; -- so called from the practice of causing the criminal to stand on a ladder which was turned over, so throwing him off, when the signal was given.
- A round of a rope or cord in order to secure it, as about a pin or a cleat.
- A pit sunk in some part of a drift.
- A court of record, held by the sheriff twice a year in every hundred within his county.
- Monthly courses; menses.
- An embellishment or grace (marked thus, /), commonly consisting of the principal note, or that on which the turn is made, with the note above, and the semitone below, the note above being sounded first, the principal note next, and the semitone below last, the three being performed quickly, as a triplet preceding the marked note. The turn may be inverted so as to begin with the lower note, in which case the sign is either placed on end thus /, or drawn thus /.
2 . Turn [ v. i.]
- To move round; to have a circular motion; to revolve entirely, repeatedly, or partially; to change position, so as to face differently; to whirl or wheel round; as, a wheel turns on its axis; a spindle turns on a pivot; a man turns on his heel.
- Hence, to revolve as if upon a point of support; to hinge; to depend; as, the decision turns on a single fact.
- To result or terminate; to come about; to eventuate; to issue.
- To be deflected; to take a different direction or tendency; to be directed otherwise; to be differently applied; to be transferred; as, to turn from the road.
- To be changed, altered, or transformed; to become transmuted; also, to become by a change or changes; to grow; as, wood turns to stone; water turns to ice; one color turns to another; to turn Mohammedan.
- To undergo the process of turning on a lathe; as, ivory turns well.
- To become acid; to sour; -- said of milk, ale, etc.
- To become giddy; -- said of the head or brain.
- To be nauseated; -- said of the stomach.
- To become inclined in the other direction; -- said of scales.
- To change from ebb to flow, or from flow to ebb; -- said of the tide.
- To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.
- To invert a type of the same thickness, as temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.
3 . Turn [ v. t.]
- To cause to move upon a center, or as if upon a center; to give circular motion to; to cause to revolve; to cause to move round, either partially, wholly, or repeatedly; to make to change position so as to present other sides in given directions; to make to face otherwise; as, to turn a wheel or a spindle; to turn the body or the head.
- To cause to present a different side uppermost or outmost; to make the upper side the lower, or the inside to be the outside of; to reverse the position of; as, to turn a box or a board; to turn a coat.
- To give another direction, tendency, or inclination to; to direct otherwise; to deflect; to incline differently; -- used both literally and figuratively; as, to turn the eyes to the heavens; to turn a horse from the road, or a ship from her course; to turn the attention to or from something.
- To change from a given use or office; to divert, as to another purpose or end; to transfer; to use or employ; to apply; to devote.
- To change the form, quality, aspect, or effect of; to alter; to metamorphose; to convert; to transform; -- often with to or into before the word denoting the effect or product of the change; as, to turn a worm into a winged insect; to turn green to blue; to turn prose into verse; to turn a Whig to a Tory, or a Hindu to a Christian; to turn good to evil, and the like.
- To form in a lathe; to shape or fashion (anything) by applying a cutting tool to it while revolving; as, to turn the legs of stools or tables; to turn ivory or metal.
- Hence, to give form to; to shape; to mold; to put in proper condition; to adapt.
- To translate; to construe; as, to turn the Iliad.
- To make acid or sour; to ferment; to curdle, etc.: as, to turn cider or wine; electricity turns milk quickly.
- To sicken; to nauseate; as, an emetic turns one's stomach.

Meaning of 'turn' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . turn [ n]
Meaning (1):
- a circular segment of a curve
Example in sentence:
  • a bend in the road;
  • a crook in the path
Meaning (2):
- a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
Example in sentence:
  • a spell of work;
  • it's my go
Meaning (3):
- an unforeseen development
Example in sentence:
  • events suddenly took an awkward turn
Meaning (4):
- a short performance that is part of a longer program
Example in sentence:
  • he did his act three times every evening;
  • it was one of the best numbers he ever did;
  • she had a catchy little routine
Meaning (5):
- a favor for someone
Example in sentence:
  • he did me a good turn
Meaning (6):
- the act of turning away or in the opposite direction
Example in sentence:
  • he made an abrupt turn away from her
Meaning (7):
- the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
Example in sentence:
  • he took a turn to the right
Meaning (8):
- (game) the activity of doing something in an agreed succession
Example in sentence:
  • it is my turn;
  • it is still my play
Meaning (9):
- a movement in a new direction
Example in sentence:
  • the turning of the wind
Meaning (10):
- taking a short walk out and back
Example in sentence:
  • we took a turn in the park
Meaning (11):
- turning or twisting around (in place)
Example in sentence:
  • with a quick twist of his head he surveyed the room
12 . turn [ v]
Meaning (12):
- cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form
Example in sentence:
  • bend the rod;
  • the strong man could turn an iron bar;
  • twist the dough into a braid
Meaning (13):
- to break and turn over earth especially with a plow
Example in sentence:
  • Farmer Jones plowed his east field last week;
  • turn the earth in the Spring
Meaning (14):
- undergo a change or development
Example in sentence:
  • He turned traitor;
  • Her former friend became her worst enemy;
  • The water turned into ice
Meaning (15):
- twist suddenly so as to sprain
Example in sentence:
  • I turned my ankle and couldn't walk for several days;
  • the hikers sprained their ankles when they fell;
  • The wrestler twisted his shoulder;
  • wrench one's ankle
Meaning (16):
- change color
Example in sentence:
  • In Vermont, the leaves turn early
Meaning (17):
- pass to the other side of
Example in sentence:
  • move around the obstacle;
  • turn the corner
Meaning (18):
- channel one's attention, interest, thought, or attention toward or away from something
Example in sentence:
  • people turn to mysticism at the turn of a millennium;
  • The pedophile turned to boys for satisfaction
Meaning (19):
- change to the contrary
Example in sentence:
  • public opinion turned when it was revealed that the president had an affair with a White House intern;
  • the tides turned against him;
  • The trend was reversed
Meaning (20):
- have recourse to or make an appeal or request for help or information to
Example in sentence:
  • She called on her Representative to help her;
  • She turned to her relatives for help
Meaning (21):
- pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
Example in sentence:
  • She grew angry;
  • The weather turned nasty
Meaning (22):
- become officially one year older
Example in sentence:
  • She is turning 50 this year
Meaning (23):
- direct at someone
Example in sentence:
  • She turned a smile on me;
  • They turned their flashlights on the car
Meaning (24):
- change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
Example in sentence:
  • She turned from herself and learned to listen to others' needs;
  • The mugger turned and fled before I could see his face;
  • Turn towards me
Meaning (25):
- cause to change or turn into something different;assume new characteristics
Example in sentence:
  • The alchemists tried to turn lead into gold;
  • The princess turned the frog into a prince by kissing him
Meaning (26):
- get by buying and selling
Example in sentence:
  • the company turned a good profit after a year
Meaning (27):
- go sour or spoil
Example in sentence:
  • The cream has turned--we have to throw it out;
  • The milk has soured;
  • The wine worked
Meaning (28):
- undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
Example in sentence:
  • The people turned against the President when he stole the election;
  • We turned from Socialism to Capitalism
Meaning (29):
- move around an axis or a center
Example in sentence:
  • The wheels are turning
Meaning (30):
- to send or let go
Example in sentence:
  • They turned away the crowd at the gate of the governor's mansion
Meaning (31):
- cause to move around or rotate
Example in sentence:
  • turn a key;
  • turn your palm this way
Meaning (32):
- cause to move around a center so as to show another side of
Example in sentence:
  • turn a page of a book
Meaning (33):
- accomplish by rotating
Example in sentence:
  • turn a somersault;
  • turn cartwheels
Meaning (34):
- cause to move along an axis or into a new direction
Example in sentence:
  • turn the car around;
  • turn your dance partner around;
  • turn your face to the wall
Meaning (35):
- shape by rotating on a lathe or cutting device or a wheel
Example in sentence:
  • turn the clay on the wheel;
  • turn the legs of the table
Meaning (36):
- alter the functioning or setting of
Example in sentence:
  • turn the dial to 10;
  • turn the heat down
Meaning (37):
- let (something) fall or spill from a container
Example in sentence:
  • turn the flour onto a plate

Nearby Words:

tur turacin turacou turacoverdin turanian turanians turatt turban turban-shell turban-top

See 'turn' also in:

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