turn

Fetched 2026-10-30 (live).

Datamuse reports no synonyms or antonyms for this word.

Verb

1. To make a non-linear physical movement. To move about an axis through itself.
   • the Earth turns
   • turn on the spot
   • Turn the knob clockwise.
   • She turned right at the corner.
   • She turned the table legs with care and precision.
   • Add sugar and butter, then turn the mixture into a dish.
   • The farmer turned the cows into a field.
   • turn the bed covers; turn the pages
   • turn to page twenty; turn through the book
   • I fell off my bike and turned my ankle severely.
2. To move about an axis through itself.
   • the Earth turns
   • turn on the spot
3. To change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation.
   • Turn the knob clockwise.
4. To change one's direction of travel.
   • She turned right at the corner.
5. 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.
6. To give form to; to shape or mould; to adapt.
7. To direct or impel (something) into or out of a place.
   • Add sugar and butter, then turn the mixture into a dish.
   • The farmer turned the cows into a field.
8. To position (something) by folding it, or using its folds.
   • turn the bed covers; turn the pages
9. To navigate through a book or other printed material.
   • turn to page twenty; turn through the book
10. To twist or sprain.
    • I fell off my bike and turned my ankle severely.
11. Of a bowler, to make (the ball) move sideways off the pitch when it bounces.
12. Of a ball, to move sideways off the pitch when it bounces.
13. To change condition or attitude. To become .
    • The leaves turn brown in autumn.
    • When I asked him for the money, he turned nasty.
    • Charlie turns six on September 29.
    • The hillside behind our house isn't generally much to look at, but once all the trees turn it's gorgeous.
    • Midas made everything turn to gold. He turned into a monster every full moon.
    • This milk has turned; it smells awful.
    • to turn cider or wine
    • How long ago was he turned?
    • Bruce Banner turns when he is angry: he becomes the Hulk, an incredibly powerful green monster.
    • The decision turns on a single fact.
    • The prisoners turned on the warden.
    • The sight turned my stomach.
14. To become .
    • The leaves turn brown in autumn.
    • When I asked him for the money, he turned nasty.
    • Charlie turns six on September 29.
15. To change the color of the leaves in the autumn.
    • The hillside behind our house isn't generally much to look at, but once all the trees turn it's gorgeous.
16. To change fundamentally; to metamorphose.
    • Midas made everything turn to gold. He turned into a monster every full moon.
    • This milk has turned; it smells awful.
    • to turn cider or wine
    • How long ago was he turned?
    • Bruce Banner turns when he is angry: he becomes the Hulk, an incredibly powerful green monster.
17. To sour or spoil; to go bad.
    • This milk has turned; it smells awful.
18. To make acid or sour; to ferment; to curdle.
    • to turn cider or wine
19. To change (a person) into a vampire, werewolf, zombie, etc.
    • How long ago was he turned?
20. To transform into a vampire, werewolf, zombie, etc.
    • Bruce Banner turns when he is angry: he becomes the Hulk, an incredibly powerful green monster.
21. To change the sexual orientation or gender of another person, or otherwise awaken a sexual preference.
22. To hinge; to depend.
    • The decision turns on a single fact.
23. To rebel; to go against something formerly tolerated.
    • The prisoners turned on the warden.
24. To change personal condition. To change personalities, such as from being a face (good guy) to heel (bad guy) or vice versa. To make or become giddy; said of the head or brain. To sicken; to nauseate.
    • The sight turned my stomach.
25. To change personalities, such as from being a face (good guy) to heel (bad guy) or vice versa.
26. To make or become giddy; said of the head or brain.
27. To sicken; to nauseate.
    • The sight turned my stomach.
28. To be nauseated; said of the stomach.
29. To change one's course of action; to take a new approach.
30. To complete.
    • They say they can turn the parts in two days.
31. To make (money); turn a profit.
    • We turned a pretty penny with that little scheme.
32. Of a player, to go past an opposition player with the ball in one's control.
33. To undergo the process of turning on a lathe.
    • Ivory turns well.
34. To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.
35. To invert a type of the same thickness, as a temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.
36. To translate.
    • to turn the Iliad
37. To magically or divinely repel undead.
38. To carve vegetables into uniform barrel-like or American football-like shapes.
    • The hardest part of culinary school was learning to turn vegetables perfectly.

Noun

1. A change of direction or orientation.
   • Give the handle a turn, then pull it.
2. A movement of an object about its own axis in one direction that continues until the object returns to its initial orientation. A unit of plane angle measurement based on this movement.
3. A unit of plane angle measurement based on this movement.
4. A walk to and fro.
   • Let's take a turn in the garden.
5. A chance to use something shared in sequence with others.
   • They took turns playing with the new toy.
6. 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.
7. One's chance to make a move in a game having two or more players.
8. 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.
9. The time required to complete a project.
   • They quote a three-day turn on parts like those.
10. The transition from one period or era, or hour on the clock, to another.
    • turn of the century
11. A fit or a period of giddiness.
    • I've had a funny turn.
12. A change in temperament or circumstance.
    • She took a turn for the worse.
13. A sideways movement of the ball when it bounces (caused by rotation in flight).
14. The fourth communal card in Texas hold 'em.
15. The flop (the first three community cards) in Texas hold 'em.
16. A deed done to another; an act of kindness or malice.
    • One good turn deserves another.
    • I felt that the man was of a vindictive nature, and would do me an evil turn if he found the opportunity […].
17. A single loop of a coil.
18. A pass behind or through an object.
19. Character; personality; nature.
20. An instance of going past an opposition player with the ball in one's control.
21. A short skit, act, or routine.
22. A type turned upside down to serve for another character that is not available.
23. The profit made by a stockjobber, being the difference between the buying and selling prices.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wiktionary) · cached copy, not a rewrite.