turn-on
nounEtymology Deverbal from turn on.
1
Something that attracts, gives pleasure, or encourages, especially sexually.
- Pretty eyes have always been a turn-on.
- Related terms
- aphrodisiac, fetish, kink, panty peeler
turn on
verbalso spelled turn-on11 senses
- 1To set a flow of fluid or gas running by rotating a tap or valve.
- 2To power up, to put into operation, to start, to…
- 3To start operating; to power up, to become on.
- 4To introduce (someone to something), and especially to…
- 5To sexually arouse.
- 6To take drugs.
- 7To cause to take up drugs, especially hallucinogens.
- 8To aim at.
- 9To rebel against; to suddenly attack.
- 10To cause (someone) to rebel against or suddenly attack…
- 11To depend upon; to pivot around, to have as a central subject.
1
To set a flow of fluid or gas running by rotating a tap or valve.
- Turn on the tap/faucet.
2
To power up, to put into operation, to start, to activate (an appliance, light, mechanism, functionality etc.).
- Please turn the lights on so I can see what I'm reading.
- Please turn on automatic updates.
3 more examples
- He'll turn on the charm if he thinks he's losing the sale.
- Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and turning it on again? Ok. Well, are you sure that it's plugged in?2006 February 17, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, season 1, episode 4:
- Robins, of Torquay, had denied a single charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. She claimed the microwave was accidentally turned on by one of the cats after the kitten got inside. But Knutton said the kitten was too small to even get onto the work surface.2011 December 14, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in The Guardian:
3
Of a device To start operating; to power up, to become on.
- My computer won't turn on.
4
To introduce (someone to something), and especially to fill them with enthusiasm (about it); to intoxicate, give pleasure to ( + to an object of interest or excitement).
- Attractive packaging can turn buyers on to a product.
- Attractive showroom models can turn buyers on.
1 more example
- Hearing that song turned me on to jazz fusion.
5
To sexually arouse.
- John's a maid fetishist. Maid outfits really turn him on.
- You don't have to be beautiful to turn me on / I just need your body, baby, from dusk 'til dawn1986, Prince, “Kiss”, in Parade, performed by Prince and the Revolution:
2 more examples
- You really turn me on / You knock me off of my feet / My lonely days are gone1987, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, in Bad, performed by Michael Jackson:
- You make me feel like I'm livin' a teenage dream / The way you turn me on, I can't sleep2010, “Teenage Dream”, performed by Katy Perry:
6
Slang To take drugs.
- "Well, they seem to always have dope up there, and I like to turn on, too." "You do?" "Sure. Cops is just people. I don't drink, so I gotta do something to get my kicks."1971, Chuck Barnes, Revenge, Timely Books:
7
Slang To cause to take up drugs, especially hallucinogens.
- In fact, many youngsters will not even turn on a close friend if they know he has never used drugs. And it is rare indeed for a youth to actively seek out people to turn on.1976, Robert H. Coombs, Lincoln J. Fry, Patricia G. Lewis, Socialization in drug abuse:
8
To aim at.
- He turned the searchlight on the passing planes.
- Cornered by the authorities, the shooter turned the gun on himself.
9
To rebel against; to suddenly attack.
- Suddenly all his friends turned on him.
- She was Nicolas Sarkozy's pin-up for diversity, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French government post. But Rachida Dati has now turned on her own party elite with such ferocity that some have suggested she should be expelled from the president's ruling party.2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in Guardian:
2 more examples
- Milk Tea Alliance: are young Thais turning on China over Hong Kong?2020 June 14, Jitsiree Thongnoi, “Milk Tea Alliance: are young Thais turning on China over Hong Kong?”, in South China Morning Post, retrieved 16 Jun 2020:
- The year before, Ariana Grande's fandom, the Arianators, turned on a journalist who had called the star “a spoiled white girl”.2025 October 25, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, “Call yourself a fan?”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1:
10
To cause (someone) to rebel against or suddenly attack (someone else).
- We need to be thinking about what it means the way they are locking us up, and turning us on each other. We need to start fighting for our rights together.1984 August 18, X-Con, “Women In Cages”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 6, page 7:
11
To depend upon; to pivot around, to have as a central subject.
- The argument turned on the question of whether or not jobs would be lost.
- Synonyms
- turn against
- Derived terms
- turn-on, turnon, turn on the waterworks, turn-on time