Word.ws English Dictionary

turn a phrase

turn a phrase verb: to create a particular linguistic expression which is strikingly clear, appropriate, and memorable.

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To create a particular linguistic expression which is strikingly clear, appropriate, and memorable.
    • Gerard coloured all over at the compliment; but not knowing how to turn a phrase equal to the occasion, asked her if he should resume her picture.1861, Charles Reade, chapter 61, in The Cloister and the Hearth
    • "Ah, how gracefully these wild northern men can turn a phrase!" whispered Chrysophrasia.1887, Francis Marion Crawford, chapter 8, in Paul Patoff

turn a phrase meaning in Bengali

turn a phrase in Bengali

উপযুক্ত এবং স্মরণীয়

Examples of turn a phrase in a sentence

  • Everyone who was anyone at Long Barton spoke in careful and correct English, but no one ever troubled to turn a phrase.1906, Edith Nesbit, chapter 3, in The Incomplete Amorist:
  • Nobody, however, can take issue with Purdy's ability to turn a phrase.2004, Elisabeth Egan, "A world of talking cats and lost, lonely boys" (review of Moe's Villa and Other Stories by James Purdy), San...

Forms of turn a phrase

third-person singular presentturns a phrase
present participleturning a phrase
past participleturned a phrase
pastturned a phrase

Questions about turn a phrase

What does turn a phrase mean?
Turn a phrase means to create a particular linguistic expression which is strikingly clear, appropriate, and memorable.
What is turn a phrase in Bengali?
Turn a phrase in Bengali is উপযুক্ত এবং স্মরণীয়. See Turn a phrase meaning in Bengali.
How do you use turn a phrase in a sentence?
Everyone who was anyone at Long Barton spoke in careful and correct English, but no one ever troubled to turn a phrase.
What part of speech is turn a phrase?
Turn a phrase is a verb.
What is the past tense of turn a phrase?
The past tense of turn a phrase is turned a phrase.

Words near turn a phrase in the dictionary

  1. turn a deaf ear
  2. turn a hair
  3. turn a new leaf
  4. turn a number of shades of red
  5. turn a page
  6. turn a phrase
  7. turn a profit
  8. turn a setback into a comeback
  9. turn a trick
  10. turn about
  11. turn about is fair play

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: turn a phrase (page history and authors); turn a phrase (Bengali Wiktionary) (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-turn a phrase.ogg.

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