Word.ws English Dictionary

turn a new leaf

turn a new leaf is the alternative form of turn over a new leaf.

Meaning of turn over a new leaf

Verb

turn over a new leaf (third-person singular simple present turns over a new leaf, present participle turning over a new leaf, simple past and past participle turned over a new leaf)

  1. (idiomatic) To engage in self-improvement; to begin a good habit or shed a bad habit.
    • Every year he resolves to turn over a new leaf and start exercising.

Forms of turn a new leaf

third-person singular presentturns a new leaf
present participleturning a new leaf
past participleturned a new leaf
pastturned a new leaf

Questions about turn a new leaf

What is turn a new leaf the alternative form of?
Turn a new leaf is the alternative form of turn over a new leaf.

Words near turn a new leaf in the dictionary

  1. turn 19 in Poland
  2. turn a blind eye
  3. turn a corner
  4. turn a deaf ear
  5. turn a hair
  6. turn a new leaf
  7. turn a number of shades of red
  8. turn a page
  9. turn a phrase
  10. turn a profit
  11. turn a setback into a comeback

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: turn a new leaf (page history and authors); turn over a new leaf (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “turn a new leaf.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/turn_a_new_leaf. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.