turn
UK /tɜːn/ · US /tɜɹn/ verb, noun
Forms turns turning turned turnest turnedst turneth turnt
- verb (intransitive, of a body, person, etc) To move about an axis through itself. “the Earth turns”
- verb (transitive) To change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation. “Turn the knob clockwise.”
- verb (intransitive) To change one's direction of travel. “She turned right at the corner.”
- verb (transitive) To shape (something) symmetrically by rotating it against a stationary cutting tool, as on a lathe. “She turned the table legs with care and precision.”
- verb (by extension) To give form to; to shape or mould; to adapt.
- verb (transitive) To direct or impel (something) into or out of a place. “Add sugar and butter, then turn the mixture into a dish.”
- verb (transitive) To position (something) by folding it, or using its folds. “turn the bed covers; turn the pages”
- verb (transitive, figuratively) To navigate through a book or other printed material. “turn to page twenty; turn through the book”
- noun A change of direction or orientation. “Give the handle a turn, then pull it.”
- noun A movement of an object about its own axis in one direction that continues until the object returns to its initial orientation.
- noun (geometry) A unit of plane angle measurement based on this movement.
- noun A walk to and fro. “Let's take a turn in the garden.”
- noun A chance to use something shared in sequence with others. “They took turns playing with the new toy.”
- noun A spell of work, especially the time allotted to a person in a rota or schedule. “I cooked tonight, so it's your turn to do the dishes.”
- noun One's chance to make a move in a game having two or more players.
- noun A figure in music, often denoted ~, consisting of the note above the one indicated, the note itself, the note below the one indicated, and the note itself again.
Synonyms
rotate spin twirl steer swerve tack become get go come fall grow wax go bad go off sour spoil rebel revolt lathe bend crook twist turning play turn of events spell tour bout round
Etymology
From Middle English turnen, from Old English turnian, tyrnan (“to turn, rotate, revolve”), from Proto-West Germanic *turnēn (“to turn, lathe”) (also the source of German turnen and its derivatives) and Old French torner (“to turn”), both from Latin tornāre (“to round off, turn in a lathe”), from tornus (“lathe”), from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “turning-lathe: a tool used for making circles”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, rub by turning, turn, twist, bore”). Cognate with Old English þrāwan (“to turn, twist, wind”), whence English throw. Displaced native Middle English wenden from Old English wendan (see wend), and Middle English trenden from Old English trendan (see trend), among several other terms.
Partly from Anglo-Norman *torn, from Latin tornus, from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos), and partly an action noun from the verb turn.
Webster’s 1913
- verb 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.
- verb 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.
- verb 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.
- verb Hence, to revolve as if upon a point of support; to hinge; to depend; as, the decision turns on a single fact.
Etymology [OE. turnen, tournen, OF. tourner, torner, turner, F. tourner, LL. tornare, fr. L. tornare to turn in a lathe, to rounds off, fr. tornus a lathe, Gr. throw. See Throw, and cf. Attorney, Return, Tornado, Tour, Tournament.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “turn”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details