turn

CEFRA1

/tɜːn/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To move around a central point or change direction.

  2. 02

    noun

    A chance or time for someone to do something.

Examples

  • Could you turn on the light, please?

  • The wheels of the car began to turn.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To make a non-linear physical movement.

  2. To change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation.

  3. To move about an axis through itself.

More examples

In context

  • Turn right at the crossroad.

  • Turn the knob clockwise.

  • turn on the spot

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The dancer began to blank in a circle as the music started.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English turnen, from Old English turnian, tyrnan (“to turn, rotate, revolve”), from Proto-West Germanic *turnēn (“to turn, lathe”) (also the source of German turnen and its derivatives) and Old French torner (“to turn”), both from Latin tornāre (“to round off, turn in a lathe”), from tornus (“lathe”), from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “turning-lathe: a tool used for making circles”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, rub by turning, turn, twist, bore”). Cognate with Old English þrāwan (“to turn, twist, wind”), whence English throw. Displaced native Middle English wenden from Old English wendan (see wend), and Middle English trenden from Old English trendan (see trend),...