- the time when somebody in a group of people should or is allowed to do something
- When it's your turn, take another card.
- Please wait your turn.
- somebody's turn to do something Whose turn is it to cook?
- Steve took a turn driving while I slept.
- If you can't put any cards down you have to miss a turn.
Extra ExamplesTopics Games and toysa1- By the time it came to my turn to sing, I was a bag of nerves.
- Can I have a turn?
- Give Sarah a turn on the swing.
- I'll take a turn making the dinner—you have a rest.
- She had not been friendly to Pete and he, in his turn, was cold to her when she came to stay.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + turn- have
- take
- miss
- …
- come
- in turn
- in somebody’s turn
- out of turn
- …
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- a change in direction in a vehicle
- Make a left/right turn into West Street.
- turn to the left/right He made a sudden turn to the right.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- left
- left-hand
- right
- …
- do
- make
- negotiate
- …
- at every turn
- a turn to the left
- a turn to the right
- …
- (especially North American English) (British English usually turning)a place where a road leads away from the one you are travelling on
- Take the next turn on the right.
- He took a wrong turn and ended up on the coast road.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- next
- wrong
- hairpin
- …
- make
- take
- miss
- …
- a turn on the left
- a turn on the right
- twists and turns
- …
- a bend or corner in a road
- a lane full of twists and turns
Extra ExamplesTopics Transport by car or lorrya2- There was a screech as the car rounded a tight turn.
- The car skidded around a hairpin turn.
- Slow down as you enter the turn
- She stopped talking as she negotiated a particularly sharp turn.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- next
- wrong
- hairpin
- …
- make
- take
- miss
- …
- a turn on the left
- a turn on the right
- twists and turns
- …
- an act of turning somebody/something around
- Give the handle a few turns.
- The engine started with the first turn of the key.
Extra Examples- Rotate the image through a quarter turn.
- a full turn of the handle to the right
- It slowly spun for three complete turns.
- a quick turn of his head
- Every time she did a flip turn, she made a large splash.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- complete
- full
- half
- …
- give something
- an unusual or unexpected change in what is happening
- a surprising turn of events
- His health has taken a turn for the worse (= suddenly got worse).
- Events took a dramatic turn in the weeks that followed.
- by turns The book is, by turns, funny and very sad.
Extra Examples- Her career took an unexpected turn when she moved to New York.
- It marks a major turn in this presidency.
- He seems to have taken an abrupt career turn with his new movie.
- Schuler's life took a radical turn when he became obsessed with horses.
- The battle took an unfortunate turn.
- The trial has taken an even more bizarre turn today.
- The video market took an interesting turn in the mid 1980s.
- This movie is by turn terrifying and very funny.
- It's impossible to follow all the twists and turns of the plot.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- abrupt
- sudden
- dramatic
- …
- take
- mark
- signal
- …
- by turn
- by turns
- on the turn
- …
- take a turn for the better
- take a turn for the worse
- a turn of events
- …
- a short performance or piece of entertainment such as a song, etc.
- Everyone got up on stage to do a turn.
- (old-fashioned) a short walk
- We took a turn around the park.
- (old-fashioned) a feeling of illness
- a funny turn (= a feeling that you may faint)
- Grandma had one of her turns.
time
of road/vehicle
movement
change
performance
walk
illness
Word OriginOld English tyrnan, turnian (verb), from Latin tornare, from tornus ‘lathe’, from Greek tornos ‘lathe, circular movement’; probably reinforced in Middle English by Old French turner. The noun (Middle English) is partly from Anglo-Norman French tourn, partly from the verb.
Idioms
See turn in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee turn in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishat every turn
- everywhere or every time you try and do something
- At every turn I met with disappointment.
- Her ideas were blocked at every turn.
done to a turn
- cooked for exactly the right amount of time
give somebody a turn
- (old-fashioned) to frighten or shock somebody
- You gave me quite a turn, creeping up on me like that!
(do somebody) a good turn
- (to do) something that helps somebody
- Well, that's my good turn for the day.
in turn
- one after the other in a particular order
- The children called out their names in turn.
- as a result of something in a series of events
- Increased production will, in turn, lead to increased profits.
not do a hand’s turn
- (old-fashioned) to do no work
- She hasn't done a hand's turn all week.
one good turn deserves another
- (saying) you should help somebody who has helped you
on the turn
- (especially British English) going to change soon
- His luck is on the turn.
out of turn
- if you do something out of turn, you do it when you are not supposed to be the next person to do something
- Batista had batted out of turn.
- I'm writing to you out of turn because I have some very important news.
serve your/its turn
- (British English) to be useful for a particular purpose or period of time
speak/talk out of turn
- to say something that you should not because it is the wrong situation or because it offends somebody
take turns (doing something/in doing something/to do something)
(British English also take it in turns)
- if people take turns or take it in turns to do something, they do it one after the other to make sure it is done fairly
- The male and female birds take turns in sitting on the eggs.
- We take it in turns to do the housework.
- The kids took turns on the swing.
the turn of the century/year
- the time when a new century/year starts
- It was built at the turn of the century.
- The team are unbeaten since the turn of the year.
a turn of mind
- a particular way of thinking about things
a turn of phrase
- a particular way of describing something
- He is meticulous in his choice of words and turns of phrase.
a turn of the screw
- an extra amount of pressure, cruelty, etc. added to a situation that is already difficult to bear or understand
a turn of speed
- a sudden increase in your speed or rate of progress; the ability to suddenly increase your speed
- He put on an impressive turn of speed in the last lap.
- The kangaroo has a fast turn of speed.
- For a small car it has a good turn of speed.
Check pronunciation:
turn