Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use turn in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun

Turn means to move about an axis through itself. Example: “Turn the knob clockwise.”

Examples of turn by meaning

verbTo move about an axis through itself.

  • the Earth turns
  • turn on the spot
  • "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner.1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC

verbTo change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation.

  • Turn the knob clockwise.
  • The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.2013 July-August, Lee S. Langston, “The Adaptable Gas Turbine”, in American Scientist

verbTo change one's direction of travel.

  • She turned right at the corner.
  • It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

verbTo shape (something) symmetrically by rotating it against a stationary cutting tool, as on a lathe.

  • She turned the table legs with care and precision.

verbTo direct or impel (something) into or out of a place.

  • Add sugar and butter, then turn the mixture into a dish.
  • The farmer turned the cows into a field.
  • You were not wont to turn young and beautiful suppliants from your office door.1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries

verbTo position (something) by folding it, or using its folds.

  • turn the bed covers; turn the pages

verbTo navigate through a book or other printed material.

  • turn to page twenty; turn through the book

verbTo twist or sprain.

  • I fell off my bike and turned my ankle severely.

More sentences with turn

  • The army's raid on the enemy turned into a major abattoir.From the entry abattoir
  • His face went ablush after realizing he had spoken out of turn.From the entry ablush
  • He turned on her and has been her enemy ever since.From the entry on
  • In many cultures, a baby turns one year old a year after its birth.From the entry one
  • She turned the gas on, put the potatoes on, then lit the oven.From the entry gas
  • The car began to accelerate as soon as the light turned green.From the entry accelerate
  • We have dealt with the generals; now let us turn to the particulars.From the entry general
  • Whoever closed last night forgot to turn off the closet light.From the entry close
  • He killed the engine and turned off the headlights, but remained in the car, waiting.From the entry kill
  • I live in a blue constituency. Congress turned blue in the mid-term elections.From the entry blue
  • After each game turn, invert the hourglass to reset the time limit for the next player.From the entry hourglass
  • In the end, the tickets didn't turn out so very expensive.From the entry very
  • It was a complete shock when he turned up on my doorstep.From the entry complete
  • As he cooked it the whole thing turned a rich, deep chocolate.From the entry chocolate
  • Chat turned to whisper when the boss entered the conference room.From the entry boss
  • He turned when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Nobody made a sound.From the entry sound
  • At the start of their turn, each player must draw a card.From the entry draw
  • Do you think I'll get married before I turn 30? – Who knows, you might never marry.From the entry who knows
  • Just a little louder please—turn that knob a hair to the right.From the entry hair
  • At the first intersection turn left and walk down, then turn right.From the entry down
  • Turn the cloth over so that the patterned side is down.From the entry down
  • By my readings, we're bearing due south, so we should turn about ten degrees east.From the entry bear
  • The investigation stalled when all leads turned out to be dead ends.From the entry lead
  • I can’t believe he bid the Syracuse turn; that can be brutal in the winter!From the entry bid
  • I caught her by the arm and turned her to face me.From the entry catch
  • The sunlight caught the leaves and the trees turned to gold.From the entry catch

Meaning of turn

  1. verb To move about an axis through itself.
  2. verb To change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation.
  3. verb To change one's direction of travel.

Full definition of turn

Questions about turn in a sentence

How do you use turn in a sentence?
Turn is used as a verb and noun. For example: “Turn the knob clockwise.”
What is a short sentence with turn?
“the Earth turns”
What does turn mean?
Turn means to move about an axis through itself.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: turn (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use turn in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/turn. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.