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Turn to   /tərn tu/   Listen
verb
Turn  v. i.  
1.
To move round; to have a circular motion; to revolve entirely, repeatedly, or partially; to change position, so as to face differently; to whirl or wheel round; as, a wheel turns on its axis; a spindle turns on a pivot; a man turns on his heel. "The gate... on golden hinges turning."
2.
Hence, to revolve as if upon a point of support; to hinge; to depend; as, the decision turns on a single fact. "Conditions of peace certainly turn upon events of war."
3.
To result or terminate; to come about; to eventuate; to issue. "If we repent seriously, submit contentedly, and serve him faithfully, afflictions shall turn to our advantage."
4.
To be deflected; to take a different direction or tendency; to be directed otherwise; to be differently applied; to be transferred; as, to turn from the road. "Turn from thy fierce wrath." "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways." "The understanding turns inward on itself, and reflects on its own operations."
5.
To be changed, altered, or transformed; to become transmuted; also, to become by a change or changes; to grow; as, wood turns to stone; water turns to ice; one color turns to another; to turn Muslim. "I hope you have no intent to turn husband." "Cygnets from gray turn white."
6.
To undergo the process of turning on a lathe; as, ivory turns well.
7.
Specifically:
(a)
To become acid; to sour; said of milk, ale, etc.
(b)
To become giddy; said of the head or brain. "I'll look no more; Lest my brain turn."
(c)
To be nauseated; said of the stomach.
(d)
To become inclined in the other direction; said of scales.
(e)
To change from ebb to flow, or from flow to ebb; said of the tide.
(f)
(Obstetrics) To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.
8.
(Print.) To invert a type of the same thickness, as temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.
To turn about, to face to another quarter; to turn around.
To turn again, to come back after going; to return.
To turn against, to become unfriendly or hostile to.
To turn aside or To turn away.
(a)
To turn from the direct course; to withdraw from a company; to deviate.
(b)
To depart; to remove.
(c)
To avert one's face.
To turn back, to turn so as to go in an opposite direction; to retrace one's steps.
To turn in.
(a)
To bend inward.
(b)
To enter for lodgings or entertainment.
(c)
To go to bed. (Colloq.)
To turn into, to enter by making a turn; as, to turn into a side street.
To turn off, to be diverted; to deviate from a course; as, the road turns off to the left.
To turn on or To turn upon.
(a)
To turn against; to confront in hostility or anger.
(b)
To reply to or retort.
(c)
To depend on; as, the result turns on one condition.
To turn out.
(a)
To move from its place, as a bone.
(b)
To bend or point outward; as, his toes turn out.
(c)
To rise from bed. (Colloq.)
(d)
To come abroad; to appear; as, not many turned out to the fire.
(e)
To prove in the result; to issue; to result; as, the crops turned out poorly.
To turn over, to turn from side to side; to roll; to tumble.
To turn round.
(a)
To change position so as to face in another direction.
(b)
To change one's opinion; to change from one view or party to another.
To turn to, to apply one's self to; to have recourse to; to refer to. "Helvicus's tables may be turned to on all occasions."
To turn to account, To turn to profit, To turn to advantage, or the like, to be made profitable or advantageous; to become worth the while.
To turn under, to bend, or be folded, downward or under.
To turn up.
(a)
To bend, or be doubled, upward.
(b)
To appear; to come to light; to transpire; to occur; to happen.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Turn to" Quotes from Famous Books



... the favorite, "I am so certain of thy nobility and army that I make bold to turn to thee with ...
— The Pharaoh and the Priest - An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt • Boleslaw Prus

... feel weary or depressed, inclined to curse the slowness of our advance and the thousand miseries of war, I need only do what I did that evening. I need only turn to my Chasseurs and look into their eyes without a word; there I read so many noble and touching things that I am ashamed to have felt ...
— In the Field (1914-1915) - The Impressions of an Officer of Light Cavalry • Marcel Dupont

... while the Duke of Shrewsbury was still at Paris, Bolingbroke wrote to Prior thus:- "Monsieur de Torcy has a confidence in you; make use of it, once for all, upon this occasion, and convince him thoroughly that we must give a different turn to our Parliament and our people according to their ...
— Lives of the English Poets: Prior, Congreve, Blackmore, Pope • Samuel Johnson

... invective, his captivating courtesy, his melting pathos. Single gestures, attitudes, tones, have come down to us through two or three memories, and still please the curious guest at Kentucky firesides. But when we turn to the cold records of this part of his life, we find little to justify his traditional celebrity. It appears that the principal use to which his talents were applied during the first years of his practice at the bar, was in defending murderers. He seems to have shared the feeling which ...
— Choice Specimens of American Literature, And Literary Reader - Being Selections from the Chief American Writers • Benj. N. Martin

... nod of good-fellowship to his sister or Johnny, or staring at such customers as happened to be within; and, if these proved to be Matty's patrons, he would watch the progress of the sale with great interest. Then he would turn to his roaster, and work it violently for a few moments, then be off to the curbstone or crossing, exchanging some, probably not very choice, joke with some other street-gamin, or the conductor or ...
— Uncle Rutherford's Nieces - A Story for Girls • Joanna H. Mathews


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