turn around
verb7 senses
- 1To physically rotate (usually around a vertical axis)…
- 2To change drastically in a fundamental way, often for…
- 3To reverse an expected outcome (of a game, etc.)…
- 4To convert (an agent) to work for one's own side.
- 5To suddenly change or reverse one's opinion, point of…
- 6To consider from a different viewpoint.
- 7(often with a unit of time) To produce; to output; to generate.
Ergative To physically rotate (usually around a vertical axis) for a half turn (180 degrees), a whole turn (360 degrees), or an indefinite amount.
- At the end of the road, we turned around and walked back to the hotel.
- The world turns around once every twenty-four hours.
4 more examples
- Turn around once or twice so I can see your new dress.
- A wheel turns around on an axle.
- If you kids don't cut it out I will turn this car around!
- ...and called him his father; this overpowered the brave man's heart, and obliged him to turn around, to prevent the tears that stood ready to gush from his eyes.1756 November, Isaac Kimber, Edward Kimber, editors, The London magazine, or, Gentleman's monthly intelligencer, volume 25, page 517:
Figuratively To change drastically in a fundamental way, often for the better; to change to the opposite (opinion or position).
- She turned her position around and now she is in favor of the merger.
- Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around.2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
Business, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Management, Sports To reverse an expected outcome (of a game, etc.), usually from a losing outcome to a winning one; to return (a business, department, etc.) to effectiveness, profitability, etc.
- The new management team has really turned the company around 180 degrees, and they expect a good profit next year.
- The team really turned it around in the second half for a great win.
3 more examples
- They were way ahead but the game turned around on them and they lost 4–3.
- It took changes from Wenger and a rare defensive lapse from Everton before Arsenal finally turned the game around with two goals in the space of five minutes.2011 February 1, Phil McNulty, “Arsenal 2-1 Everton”, in BBC:
- Pollard, who went into the semifinals with an unsatisfactory 63% return from the kicking tee, turned it around splendidly against Wales and he continued that form despite missing his first attempt in the final.2019 November 3, Liam de Carme, “Boks, you beauties”, in Sunday Times:
Espionage, Government, Military, Politics, War To convert (an agent) to work for one's own side.
- Some months ago, the Captain had come to the FBI with a story that he had been contacted by Soviet agents, and the FBI had “turned him around” and used him to plant false and specially made up classified material of no importance on the Soviets.2014, Joseph DiMona, To the Eagle's Nest:
Colloquial, Idiomatic To suddenly change or reverse one's opinion, point of view, stated position, behaviour, etc.
- You can't just turn around and say that it was all my fault.
Idiomatic, Of an idea To consider from a different viewpoint.
- Let's turn that around and look at it from another angle.
Colloquial, Idiomatic (often with a unit of time) To produce; to output; to generate.
- We can turn around 500 units by next week.
- Typically, this meant that the teams were turning around two sets a week, with a train rolling into the depot on a Sunday for what Hinze describes as a "big strip-out". This would pull the carriages back almost to the bare bones.2025 July 23, Richard Wilcock, “A new dawn for the Electrostars”, in RAIL, number 1040, page 27:
- Derived terms
- every time one turns around, get turned around, turn-around, turn one's life around, turn the boat around, whenever one turns around