Word.ws English Dictionary

turn the tables

turn the tables verb: to reverse a situation, usually so that the advantage has shifted to the party which was previously disadvantaged.

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To reverse a situation, usually so that the advantage has shifted to the party which was previously disadvantaged.
    • Well, the tables are turned—the times are changed. A peaceful and unoffending man might have expected from a neighbour, now powerful in his turn, such protection when walking in the paths of the law, as all men, subjects of the realm, have a right to expect even from perfect strangers.1822, [Walter Scott], chapter I, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 21
    • "The tables are turned, my red friend!" said the hunter, coolly. "It's your life, not mine, this time!"1884, Horatio Alger, chapter 30, in Do and Dare

turn the tables meaning in Vietnamese

turn the tables in Vietnamese

to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted
lật ngược thế cờ

Forms of turn the tables

third-person singular presentturns the tables
present participleturning the tables
past participleturned the tables
pastturned the tables

Words formed from turn the tables

Questions about turn the tables

What does turn the tables mean?
Turn the tables means to reverse a situation, usually so that the advantage has shifted to the party which was previously disadvantaged.
What is turn the tables in Vietnamese?
Turn the tables in Vietnamese is lật ngược thế cờ. See Turn the tables meaning in Vietnamese.
What part of speech is turn the tables?
Turn the tables is a verb.
What is the past tense of turn the tables?
The past tense of turn the tables is turned the tables.

Words near turn the tables in the dictionary

  1. turn the page
  2. turn the scale
  3. turn the screw
  4. turn the screws
  5. turn the table
  6. turn the tables
  7. turn the tide
  8. turn the trick
  9. turn the turtle
  10. turn to
  11. turn to account

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: turn the tables (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-turn the tables.ogg.

Cite this entry: “turn the tables.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/turn_the_tables. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.