The word ‘turn‘ can mean many different things. As a verb, the meaning is to move in a circular direction or to change.
For example:
- The wheels began to turn. (circular direction)
- The weather is about to turn, get your umbrellas ready. (change)
Turn is a regular verb. The past tense and past participle is turned.
phrasal verbs with turn
Phrasal verbs with ‘turn’ include:
- turn against
meaning – start disliking someone/something
example – If the king keeps raising taxes, his people will turn against him. - turn around
meaning – face the opposite direction or change the fortune
example – Shaun was told to turn around and face the wall as he was being disruptive. - turn away
meaning – not allow someone to enter or face the other direction
example – I held up the chewed shoe and 1 of my 4 dogs turned away. - turn down
meaning – reduce the temperature/volume or reject an offer
example – Turn your music down, the whole street can hear it. - turn in
meaning – go to bed or hand someone to the police
example – I feel great today, I turned in early last night. - turn into
meaning – become something different
example – Caterpillars turn into butterflies. - turn off
meaning – stop an electrical device
example – I’ve turned off the gas and electricity, I think we are ready to go on holiday. - turn on
meaning – become aggressive or start an electrical device
example – I’ll turn on my computer, I need to research train times. - turn out
meaning – produce something or an unexpected result
example – My week started badly, but it turned out ok in the end. - turn out for
meaning – show up
example – Not many turned out for the funeral. - turn over
meaning – move so the top is facing the bottom, rob a business or change channel
example – Can you turn the burgers over while you are in the kitchen? - turn to
meaning – ask for help or start to do something to help you cope with difficulty
example – He turned to drugs after losing his job. - turn up
meaning – increase the temperature/volume or appear
example – Can you turn up the heating? It’s freezing in here.
picture examples
Let’s learn the meaning of the phrasal verbs that contain the verb ‘turn’ in more detail and see some examples in use.
Did you know that many idiomatic expressions (idioms) in English also contain a lot of verbs? Just like phrasal verbs, idioms are a major part of the English language (slang in particular). They are used constantly amongst native English speakers and are handy to know and understand.
Now you’ve learnt all the phrasal verbs with turn, how about learning the idioms with turn too?
