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

to turn a wheel.

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.

to reverse the position or placement of

to turn a page; to turn an egg; to turn a person around.

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

to change the position of, by or as if by rotating; move into a different position

to turn the handle one notch.

to change or alter the course of; divert; deflect

He turned the blow with his arm.

to change the focus or tendency of

She skillfully turned the conversation away from so unpleasant a subject.

to reverse the progress of; cause to retreat

The police turned the advancing rioters by firing over their heads.

to change or alter the nature, character, or appearance of

Worry turned his hair gray.

to change or convert (usually fol. by into or to )

to turn water into ice; to turn tears into laughter.

to render or make by some change

Fear turned him cowardly and craven.

to change the color of (leaves).

to cause to become sour, to ferment, or the like

Warm weather turns milk.

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

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

to put or apply to some use or purpose

He turned his mind to practical matters.

to go or pass around or to the other side of

to turn a street corner.

to get beyond or pass (a certain age, time, amount, etc.)

His son just turned four.

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.

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

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

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

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

to form or express gracefully

to turn a phrase well.

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

to cause to go; send; drive

to turn a person from one's door.

to revolve in the mind; ponder (often fol. by over)

He turned the idea over a couple of times before acting on it.

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

to cause to be prejudiced against

to turn a son against his father.

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

to earn or gain

He turned a huge profit on the sale.

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

to pour from one container into another by inverting.

to curve, bend, or twist.

to twist out of position or sprain; wrench

He turned his ankle.

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

to perform (a gymnastic feat) by rotating or revolving

to turn a somersault.

to disturb the mental balance of; distract; derange.

to disorder or upset the placement or condition of

He turned the room upside down.

Obsolete .

to convert.

to pervert.

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

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

to hinge or depend (usually fol. by on or upon )

The question turns on this point.

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

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

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

to give or apply one's interest, attention, effort, etc., to something; pursue

He turned to the study and practice of medicine.

to change or reverse a course so as to go in a different or the opposite direction

to turn to the right.

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

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

to shift the body about as if on an axis

to turn on one's side while sleeping.

to assume a curved form; bend.

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

to be affected with nausea, as the stomach.

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

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.

to change or transfer one's loyalties; defect

He turned from the Democrats and joined the Republicans.

to change an attitude or policy

to turn in favor of someone; to turn against a person.

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

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

to change color

The leaves began to turn in October.

to change so as to be; become

a lawyer turned poet; to turn pale.

to become mentally unbalanced or distracted.

to put about or tack, as a ship.

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 ).

a movement of partial or total rotation

a slight turn of the handle.

an act of changing or reversing position or posture, as by a rotary movement

a turn of the head.

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.

an act of changing or reversing the course or direction

to make a turn to the right.

a place or point at which such a change occurs.

a place where a road, river, or the like turns; bend

About a mile ahead, you'll come to a turn in the road.

a single revolution, as of a wheel.

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

direction, drift, or trend

The conversation took an interesting turn.

any change, as in nature, character, condition, affairs, circumstances, etc.; alteration; modification

a turn for the better.

the point or time of change.

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

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

rounded or curved form.

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

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

the state of or a manner of being twisted.

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

a small latch operated by a turning knob or lever.

style, as of expression or language.

a distinctive form or style imparted

a happy turn of expression.

a short walk, ride, or the like out and back, esp. by different routes

Let's go for a turn in the park.

a natural inclination, bent, tendency, or aptitude

one's turn of mind.

a spell or period of work; shift.

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

an attack of illness or the like.

an act of service or disservice

He once did her a good turn. She repaid it with a bad turn.

requirement, exigency, or need

This will serve your turn.

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.

Informal . a nervous shock, as from fright or astonishment

It certainly gave me quite a turn to see him.

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

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

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

Military . a drill movement by which a formation changes fronts.

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

turn back,

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

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

to fold (a blanket, sheet of paper, etc.) on itself

Turn back the page to keep the place.

turn down,

to turn over; fold down.

to lower in intensity; lessen.

to refuse or reject (a person, request, etc.)

The Marine Corps turned him down.

turn in,

to hand in; submit

to turn in a resignation.

to inform on or deliver up

She promptly turned him in to the police.

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

Informal . to go to bed; retire

I never turn in before eleven o'clock.

turn into,

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.

to be changed, transformed, or converted into

He has turned into a very pleasant fellow. The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.

turn off,

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

to extinguish (a light).

to divert; deflect.

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

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.

Slang . to stop listening

You could see him turn off as the speaker droned on.

Slang . to disaffect, alienate, or disgust.

Chiefly British . to discharge an employee.

turn on,

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

to switch on (a light).

to put into operation; activate.

to start suddenly to affect or show

She turned on the charm and won him over.

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

Slang . to take a narcotic drug.

Slang . to arouse or excite the interest of; engage

the first lecture that really turned me on.

Slang . to arouse sexually.

Also, turn upon. to become suddenly hostile to

The dog turned on its owner.

turn out,

to extinguish (a light).

to produce as the result of labor

She turned out four tapestries a year.

to drive out; dismiss; discharge

a premier turned out of office.

to fit out; dress; equip.

to result; issue.

to come to be; become ultimately.

to be found or known; prove.

to be present at; appear.

Informal . to get out of bed.

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

to cause to turn outward, as the toes.

turn over,

to move or be moved from one side to another.

to put in reverse position; invert.

to consider; meditate; ponder.

to transfer; give.

to start (an engine)

He turned over the car motor.

(of an engine) to start

The motor turned over without any trouble.

Commerce . to purchase and then sell (goods or commodities).

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

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

turn to,

to apply to for aid; appeal to

When he was starting out as an artist he turned to his friends for loans.

to begin to attend to or work at something

After the storm we turned to and cleaned up the debris.

to change to

The ice turned to water.

turn up,

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

to bring to the surface by digging

to turn up a shovelful of earth.

to uncover; find.

to intensify or increase.

to happen; occur

Let's wait and see what turns up.

to appear; arrive

She turned up at the last moment.

to be recovered

I'm sure your watch will turn up eventually.

to come to notice; be seen. ?

at every turn

in every case or instance; constantly

We met with kindness at every turn.

by turns

one after another; in rotation or succession; alternately

They did their shopping and cleaning by turns.

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.

in turn

in due order of succession

Each generation in turn must grapple with the same basic problems.

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.

out of turn

not in the correct succession; out of proper order.

at an unsuitable time; imprudently; indiscreetly

He spoke out of turn and destroyed the cordial atmosphere of the meeting.

take turns

to succeed one another in order; rotate; alternate

They took turns walking the dog.

to a turn

to just the proper degree; to perfection

The steak was done to a turn.

turn and turn about or turn about

by turns

They fought the fire, turn and turn about, until daybreak.

turn one's hand to. hand ( def. 87 ) .

turn the tables. table ( def. 24 ) .

turn the tide. tide 1 ( def. 16 ) .

verb

disenchant , disgust , displease , turn off , close , end , finish , shut down

verb

arouse , attract , captivate , enchant , get started , initiate , introduce , show , stimulate , stir up , thrill , titillate , work up , activate , begin , energize , ignite , log on , put in gear , put on , set in motion , start up , switch on , turn