26984 words

turned

12 definitions • 47 examples
1
past simple and past participle of
2
to (cause to) move in a circle around a fixed point or line:

Examples:

turn on The earth turns on its axis once every 24 hours.
She turned on her toes, holding out her skirt.
turn (around) The wheels started to turn (around).
Turn the steering wheel as quickly as you can.
She turned the doorknob and quietly opened the door.
Slowly, I turned the door handle.
3
to perform a movement in which your body moves around in a circle:

Examples:

turn a somersault She turned a full somersault in the air.
turn cartwheels They turned cartwheels down the catwalk.
4
to (cause to) change the direction in which you are facing or moving:

Examples:

Turn right at the traffic lights.
twist and turn The path twists and turns for the next half mile.
We have to turn down/into/up the next road on the right.
Plants tend to turn towards the source of light.
She turned to face him.
turn on your heel He turned on his heel (= turned quickly to face the opposite direction) and left the room.
turn to The person on my left turned to me and whispered "Not another speech!"
turn your back (on) His wife tried to speak to him, but he turned his back (on her)/ (= moved so that his back, not his face, was towards her to show his anger).
turn away (from) She turned away (from him) to hide her tears.
the tide turns At about three o'clock, the tide started to turn (= the sea started to come closer to or move away from the beach).
He turned his head to me to listen.
turn something round I'll just turn the car round and go back the way we came.
We watched until the car had turned (= gone around) the corner.
turn something on someone The army turned their guns on (= pointed them at and started to shoot at) the protesters.
5
In cricket, if a ball turns, it changes direction suddenly when it hits the ground:

Examples:

On this pitch, the ball turns and our batsmen have had to learn a new technique
The totals became lower as the day wore on, and the ball turned more.
6
to move, or to move an object or page, so that a different side or surface is on the top:

Examples:

Now turn the page, please, and start work on Exercise 2.
turn something over She turned the vase over to look for the price.
He turned over two or three pages.
turn over She put out the light, turned over (= rolled in order to face in another direction) and went to sleep.
turn to Now turn to (= open the book at) page 23 and look at the first paragraph.
7
to (cause to) become, change into, or come to be something:

Examples:

The weather has suddenly turned cold.
When I refused to pay, he turned nasty.
She turned pale and started to shiver.
The mood of the meeting turned solemn when the extent of the problem became known.
The companies worked well together for a while, but eventually the relationship turned sour (= became bad).
Keele, pop star turned business tycoon, has launched a new range of cosmetics.
turn something into/to something The dry weather turned the soil into/to concrete.
By the end of September, the leaves have started to turn (= become brown).
turn from something to something Her attitude turned from politely interested to enthusiastic during the course of our conversation.
8

Examples:

She turned 18 last year.
9
to become a particular time:

Examples:

It's just turned ten o'clock.
10
to use a control to switch a piece of equipment or a power or water supply on or off, or to increase or reduce what it is producing:

Examples:

turn something off/out I got into bed, turned off/out the light, and fell asleep.
turn something on Who turned the TV on?
turn something down I asked him to turn down the heating.
turn something up Turn the sound up - I can't hear what they're saying.
turn off The heater turns off (= can be switched off) using this switch.
11
to damage the muscles in the foot by suddenly twisting it too strongly:

Examples:

She turned her ankle on the rocks and had to hobble back to camp.
12
to shape a piece of wood while it is attached to a machine that spins it:

Examples:

a turned bowl

Navigation