Meaning & use
a sharp turn
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Meanings
phrasecountable
a sudden, large change in direction, especially on a road or path
Grammar: Countable phrase; used with 'a' or 'the' and can be plural: 'sharp turns'.
Patterns
- take a sharp turn
- make a sharp turn
- come to a sharp turn
The road makes a sharp turn to the left just after the bridge.
Be careful—there's a sharp turn ahead that's easy to miss in the dark.
The path took a sharp turn and suddenly we were facing the sea.
phrasecountablefigurative
a sudden, major change in a situation, opinion, or course of events
Grammar: Often used with 'take' or 'make': 'The story takes a sharp turn.'
Patterns
- take a sharp turn
- a sharp turn in something
- a sharp turn of events
The discussion took a sharp turn when someone mentioned money.
Her career took a sharp turn after she moved abroad.
The election results marked a sharp turn away from the previous government's policies.
Common combinations
- take a sharp turn
- The conversation took a sharp turn when he brought up politics.
- make a sharp turn
- The driver made a sharp turn into the parking lot.
- a sharp turn to the left/right
- After the church, take a sharp turn to the right.
- a sharp turn in the road
- There's a sharp turn in the road just past the farm.
- a sharp turn of events
- The sudden resignation was a sharp turn of events nobody expected.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sharp bend
- Common in British English for a curve in a road; 'sharp turn' is more general and also used for figurative changes.
- sudden change
- Focuses on the unexpectedness of the change, not necessarily on direction; 'sharp turn' suggests a clear change of course.
- swerve
- A verb meaning to turn aside quickly, often to avoid something; 'a sharp turn' is a noun phrase for the turn itself.
Opposites
Word family
- sharp adjective
- Having a thin edge or point; also used for sudden or intense things (a sharp turn, a sharp pain).
- sharply adverb
- In a sudden or severe way: 'The road turns sharply to the left.'
- turn noun
- An act of changing direction; used in many phrases like 'take a turn' or 'in turn'.
- turning noun
- A place where a road branches off; common in British English ('take the first turning').
Commonly confused: a sharp turn or U-turn? a sharp turn or sharp bend?
a sharp turn vs U-turn
A U-turn is a complete 180-degree change of direction, often in a vehicle; a sharp turn is any sudden, large change of direction, not necessarily reversing.
a sharp turn vs sharp bend
In British English, 'bend' is the usual word for a curve in a road, while 'turn' is more general and also used for figurative changes.
Practice
The road ______ a sharp turn just after the school, so drive slowly.
Choose one answer.
'Makes a sharp turn' is the natural collocation for a road or path changing direction. 'Takes a sharp turn' is possible for a situation or story, but less common for a physical road; 'does' and 'goes' do not fit this fixed phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a sharp turn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.