Meaning & use
turn down
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Meanings
phrasetransitive
To refuse or reject an offer, request, or invitation.
Grammar: Takes an object: turn down an offer. The object can come between turn and down: turn it down.
Patterns
- turn down something
- turn something down
She turned down the job because the salary was too low.
He asked her to marry him, but she turned him down.
They turned down our invitation to dinner.
phrasetransitive
To reduce the volume, heat, intensity, or level of something.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually placed between turn and down: turn the music down.
Patterns
- turn down something
- turn something down
Could you turn down the music? It's too loud.
Please turn the heat down; it's very warm in here.
He turned down the brightness on his phone screen.
Common combinations
- turn down an offer
- She decided to turn down the offer from the company.
- turn down the volume
- Can you turn down the volume on the TV?
- turn down the heat
- Turn down the heat before you leave the house.
- turn someone down
- He asked her out, but she turned him down.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reject
- More formal and direct than turn down; often used for applications or proposals.
- decline
- Polite and formal, often used for invitations: decline an invitation.
- lower
- For reducing volume or heat, lower is more formal and less common in everyday speech.
Opposites
Word family
- turndown noun
- An act of refusing something, or a decrease.
Commonly confused: turn down or turn up?
turn down vs turn up
Turn up means to increase volume or arrive unexpectedly, the opposite of turn down in the volume sense.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'turn down' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option A correctly uses 'turn down' to mean 'refuse'. Option B is contradictory, option C uses the wrong preposition, and option D is illogical because turning down means refusing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “turn down”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.