- turn
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 act of turning sb/sth aroundADJECTIVE▪ complete, full, half, quarter▪
It slowly spun for three complete turns.
▪a full turn of the handle to the right
▪ 90-degree, 180-degree, etc.▪ quick▪a quick turn of his head
▪ slight▪He quickly gives the handle a slight turn.
VERB + TURN▪ give sth▪Give the knob a turn.
2 change of directionADJECTIVE▪ left, left-hand, right, right-hand▪ abrupt, sharp, tight▪Tinker makes the tight turns look easy.
▪ wide▪ sudden▪ three-point (see also U-turn)▪ handbrake (BrE)▪ flip (AmE) (in swimming)▪Every time she did a flip turn, she made a large splash.
VERB + TURN▪ do, make, negotiate▪She stopped talking as she negotiated a particularly sharp turn.
▪ execute▪Syd executed each turn perfectly.
PHRASES▪ at every turn (figurative)▪At every turn I met with disappointment.
▪ a turn to the left, a turn to the right▪He made a sudden turn to the right.
▪ twists and turns (figurative)▪It's impossible to follow all the twists and turns of the plot.
3 (esp. AmE) bend/corner in a road ⇨ See also ↑turningADJECTIVE▪ next▪ wrong▪ hairpin (AmE), tight▪The car skidded around a hairpin turn.
▪There was a screech as the car rounded a tight turn.
VERB + TURN▪ make, take▪He took a wrong turn and ended up on the coast road.
▪ miss▪ approach, enter, round▪Slow down as you enter the turn
PHRASES▪ a turn on the left, a turn on the right▪Take the next turn on the right.
▪ twists and turns▪a road full of twists and turns
4 time when you must or may do sthVERB + TURN▪ have, take▪Can I have a turn?
▪I'll take a turn making the dinner—you have a rest.
▪The children took turns on the swing.
▪ miss▪If you can't put any cards down you have to miss a turn.
▪ give sb▪Give Sarah a turn on the swing.
▪ await, wait▪Be patient and wait your turn!
▪ come to▪By the time it came to my turn to sing, I was very nervous.
TURN + VERB▪ come▪When my turn finally came, I was shaking with nerves.
PREPOSITION▪ in turn (= one after the other)▪They gave their names in turn.
▪ in sb's turn (esp. BrE)▪She had not been friendly to Pete and he, in his turn, was cold to her when she came to stay.
▪ out of turn (= before or after your turn)▪Batista had batted out of turn.
5 changeADJECTIVE▪ abrupt, sudden▪He seems to have taken an abrupt career turn with his new movie.
▪ dramatic, remarkable▪ decisive, drastic, radical▪Schuler's life took a radical turn when he became obsessed with horses.
▪ different, new▪ interesting▪The video market took an interesting turn in the mid 1980s.
▪ bizarre, ironic, odd, shocking, strange, surprising, unexpected▪The trial has taken an even more bizarre turn today.
▪Events took a surprising turn.
▪ ugly, unfortunate▪The battle took an unfortunate turn.
▪ downwardVERB + TURN▪ take▪Her career took an unexpected turn when she moved to Vancouver.
▪ mark, signal▪It marks a major turn in this presidency.
PREPOSITION▪ by turn, by turns▪This movie is by turn (= alternately) terrifying and very funny.
▪ on the turn (= changing)▪Our luck is on the turn.
PHRASES▪ take a turn for the better, take a turn for the worse▪I'm afraid Grandma has taken a turn for the worse.
▪ a turn of events▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}In a dramatic turn of events she took the company into her own hands.
verbTurn is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑attention, ↑expression, ↑face, ↑head, ↑key, ↑leaf, ↑luck, ↑mood, ↑road, ↑route, ↑stomach, ↑street, ↑tide, ↑traffic light, ↑weather, ↑wheelTurn is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ankle, ↑attention, ↑bend, ↑boat, ↑conversation, ↑corner, ↑degree, ↑dial, ↑energy, ↑eye, ↑face, ↑focus, ↑gaze, ↑handle, ↑head, ↑hip, ↑ignition, ↑informer, ↑key, ↑knob, ↑lock, ↑page, ↑phrase, ↑profit, ↑screw, ↑sight, ↑soil, ↑spotlight, ↑stomach, ↑talent, ↑tap, ↑thought, ↑tide, ↑traitor, ↑wheel, ↑wrath
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
