Etymology From U + turn, from the similarity to the shape of the letter U.
1
A turn in a vehicle carried out by driving in a semicircle in order to travel in the opposite direction.
What's disappointing about all this doom and gloom is that the franchise has made the kind of whiplashing U-turn you might see in its car-chase sequences.2025 May 14, Nicholas Barber, “'A miserable, apocalyptic tract': Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning could be 'the feel-bad film of the summer”, in BBC:
The government have done a U-turn and are now supporting greater European integration instead of opposing it.
Rishi Sunak, the UK prime minister, announced a major U-turn on the government’s climate commitments last month, pushing back the deadline for selling new petrol and diesel cars and the phasing out of gas boilers.2023 October 10, Senay Boztas, “Frans Timmermans urges European left to unite against right’s climate backlash”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Etymology From U + turn, from the similarity to the shape of the letter U.
1
To turn a vehicle in a semicircle so as to face the opposite direction (∩)).
2
To shift from one opinion or decision to its opposite.
She made the case for cutting taxes as “the right thing to do morally and economically”, despite having just U-turned over her decision to abolish the 45p top rate of income tax.2022 October 5, Rowena Mason, “Liz Truss promises ‘growth, growth and growth’ in protest-hit speech”, in The Guardian: