Meaning of turn | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To make a non-linear physical movement. To move about an axis through itself
2. turn (in turn-taking)
3. A change of direction or orientation.
4. To move about an axis through itself
5. A movement of an object about its own axis in one direction that continues until the object returns to its initial orientation.
6. To begin work: If you quit dawdling and just turn to, your chores will be done soon.
7. To change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation
8. A unit of plane angle measurement based on this movement.
9. In every place; at every moment.
10. To change one's direction of travel
11. A walk to and fro.
12. One after another; alternately: "From the ... testimony emerges a man by turns devious and honest, vulgar and gallant, scatterbrained and shrewd" (Life).
13. To shape (something) symmetrically by rotating it against a stationary cutting tool, as on a lathe
14. A chance to use (something) shared in sequence with others.
15. In the proper order or sequence.
16. A spell of work, especially the time allotted to a person in a rota or schedule.
17. To a precise degree; perfectly: The roast was done to a turn.
18. One's chance to make a move in a game having two or more players.
19. To refuse to see or recognize something: turned a blind eye to tax fraud.
20. 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.
21. To refuse to listen to or hear something: turned a deaf ear to the protests.
22. The time required to complete a project.
23. To become afraid or upset: didn't turn a hair during the crisis.
24. A fit or a period of giddiness.
25. To apply oneself, as to a task: turned her hand to writing the report.
26. A change in temperament or circumstance.
27. To start acting or thinking in a more positive or responsible way.
28. A sideways movement of the ball when it bounces (caused by rotation in flight).
29. The fourth communal card in Texas hold 'em.
30. The flop (the first three community cards) in Texas hold 'em.
    obsolete
31. A deed done to another; an act of kindness or malice.
32. A single loop of a coil.
33. A pass behind or through an object.
34. Character; personality; nature.
35. An instance of going past an opposition player with the ball in one's control.
36. A short skit, act, or routine.
    especially, physical
37. A type turned upside down to serve for another character that is not available.
    dated
38. The profit made by a stockjobber, being the difference between the buying and selling prices.
    UK, historical

Equivalents

Examples

“Give the handle a turn, then pull it.”

“With just the turn of a shoulder she indicated the water front, where[…]lay the good ship, Mount Vernon, river packet, the black smoke already pouring from her stacks. In turn he smiled and also shrugged a shoulder.”

“Let's take a turn in the garden.”

“They took turns playing with the new toy.”

“I cooked tonight, so it's your turn to do the dishes.”

“They quote a three-day turn on parts like those.”

“I've had a funny turn.”

“I'm sure I never shall forget the turn young Simmons gave me when he came in with that paper as he'd been and copied out of a winder thro' being in a west-end house, […]”

“'Then you must know as well as the rest of us that there was something queer about that gentleman—something that gave a man a turn—I don't know rightly how to say it, sir, beyond this: that you felt it in your marrow kind of cold and thin.'”

“She took a turn for the worse.”

“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[…].”

“It was fortunate for his comfort, perhaps, that the man who had been chosen to accompany him was of a talkative turn, for the prisoners insisted upon hearing the story of the explosion a dozen times over, and Rufus Dawes himself had been roused to give the name of the vessel with his own lips.”

For the Term of His Natural Life

“Between the pieces were individual turns, comic songs and dances.”

“There are usually at least two jobbers who specialise in the leading stocks, and this acts to keep the jobber's turn to a reasonable amount […]”

CEFR level