verb | noun
turnturn1 /tɚn/ verb 1 
to turn in a circle► turn to move around, or make something move around: The wheels began to turn and the wagon rolled away. I turned the door handle and pushed the door open. Turn the key to start the engine.
► spin to turn something around many times, very quickly: He can spin a basketball on the end of his finger.
► rotate to turn around a central point. You use rotate about things that have the shape of a circle or that form a circle: The helicopter blades rotate at very high speeds. Rotate the knob under the chair to change the height of the seat.
► revolve (formal) to make a circular movement around a central point. Revolve is a scientific word: All the planets revolve around the Sun.
► go around (informal) to make a circular movement around a central point. Go around means the same as revolve but it is more informal: Mars takes almost 687 days to go around the sun once. Out in the ocean, you can see the wind turbines going around and around.
► whirl to spin with a lot of energy. Whirl is very similar in meaning to spin, but you use it to make your words more interesting, for example in a story: White clouds of snow were whirled around by the strong winds.
► twirl to turn something long and thin, such as a stick, around many times in a circular movement: The marchers at the front of the parade twirled their batons in time to the music.
2 to turn your body around► turn to change the direction that your body is facing: Michael turned and walked away. She turned to face him, looking excited.
► turn around to turn your body so that you are facing the opposite direction: Anna turned around so that her back was to me.
► turn away to turn your body so that you are not looking at someone, especially when you are upset or angry: I turned away so that she wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes.
► turn over to turn your body to face a different direction when you are lying down: Ryan turned over onto his stomach.
► roll over to turn your body to face a different direction when you are lying down. Roll over and turn over mean the same thing: She rolled over and stared at the ceiling.
► twist to turn part of your body while the rest of it points forward: He twisted around in his seat to see what the other kids were doing.
► spin to turn your body around many times, very quickly: The skater was spinning faster and faster.
► twirl to spin around in a graceful way. Twirl is similar in meaning to spin, but you use it to talk about things or people that seem pretty: Katy twirled in front of the mirror, admiring the dress.
3 to change direction► turn to change direction, or make something face in a different direction: The truck turned left at the traffic lights. I turned the picture to face the wall.
► turn around to turn so that you are facing the opposite direction: We turned around and drove home. Tim stopped, turned around, and went back into the house.
► turn back to stop going in one direction and start going in the opposite direction, especially because something is stopping you from going forward: The traffic was so bad that we had to turn back. We walked for about a mile and then turned back toward the parking lot.
► change direction to move in a different direction: The plane changed direction and flew west. The wind changed direction and started blowing from the north.
► swerve to move suddenly to the left or right, especially so that you do not hit something. You usually swerve when you are driving or riding a bike: She swerved to the right, almost hitting another car.
➔ see refuse1 ➔ see become verb | noun
turnturn2 /tɚn/ noun ► turn the action of moving something around in a circle: With every turn of the wheels, we came closer to home. To open the lock on your locker, make one turn to the right, then a turn to the left, and then right again, stopping at the correct numbers.
► spin a movement in which something turns around quickly, especially several times: The plane suddenly dropped downward and went into a spin. The boy gave the top a spin.
► twist a movement in which you turn something in a circle: She gave the light bulb a twist, and it broke off in her hand.
► rotation movement around a central point, like the movement of a wheel. You use rotation about the movement a planet makes around its own central point: The rotation of Earth on its axis takes 24 hours. With each rotation of the bike pedals, he became more and more tired.
► revolution AWL (formal) one complete 360 degree turn of something around a central point, used when talking about scientific subjects. You use revolution to talk about the way parts of a machine move, or about the movement of a planet in its path around a star: The Earth makes one revolution around the Sun each year. The drill turns at 150 revolutions per minute on its lowest speed.
➔ see bend2 ➔ see share1