Meaning & use
turn
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To move your body or an object so that it faces a different direction.
Grammar: Can be used with an object ('turn the key') or without ('turn left').
Patterns
- turn something
- turn to face someone
- turn around
She turned her head to look at the noise.
Turn the steering wheel to the right.
He turned and walked away.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To rotate around a central point; to make something do this.
Grammar: Often used with 'around' or 'on': 'turn around', 'turn on an axis'.
Patterns
- turn around
- turn something around
- turn on something
The earth turns on its axis once a day.
Turn the handle clockwise to open the door.
The dancer turned gracefully on one foot.
verblinking
To become a different state or condition; to change into something else.
Grammar: Linking verb followed by an adjective or noun: 'turn red', 'turn into a butterfly'.
Patterns
- turn adjective
- turn into something
- turn out to be something
The leaves turn red in autumn.
The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.
The weather turned cold suddenly.
nouncountable
An opportunity or duty to do something, coming after someone else in a sequence.
Grammar: Often used in phrases like 'take turns' or 'my turn'.
Patterns
- take turns
- my turn
- in turn
It's your turn to roll the dice.
We take turns cooking dinner.
She waited patiently for her turn to speak.
Word forms
| third person singular | turns |
|---|---|
| past tense | turned |
| past participle | turned |
| -ing form | turning |
| plural | turns |
Common combinations
- turn around
- He turned around to see who was behind him.
- turn on
- Please turn on the lights.
- turn off
- Don't forget to turn off the TV.
- turn into
- The frog turned into a prince.
- turn out
- Everything turned out well in the end.
- turn down
- She turned down the job offer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rotate
- More formal and technical; often used for objects spinning around an axis, while 'turn' is more general.
- spin
- Suggests fast, continuous turning; 'turn' can be slower or a single movement.
- become
- Used for change of state, but 'become' is more formal and does not combine with 'into' in the same way.
Word family
Commonly confused: turn or turn into?
turn vs turn into
Means to become something different. 'Turn in' means to go to bed or to submit something.
Practice
The caterpillar _____ a butterfly after several weeks.
Choose one answer.
The sentence describes a change into something else, so 'turned into' is correct. 'Turned on' means started a device, 'turned off' means stopped it, and 'turned down' means refused or reduced.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “turn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.