turning back

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) To reverse direction and retrace one's steps.
   • Realising he had forgotten his briefcase, he turned back and re-entered the office.

   Synonyms:

   about turn, about face

2. (transitive) To cause to reverse direction and retrace one's steps.
   • The barrage of machine-gun fire turned back the encroaching soldiers.
3. To return to a previous state of being.
   • He stopped drinking for a couple of years, but now he has turned back to his old ways.
4. (transitive) To prevent, or refuse to allow, passage or progress.
   • The soldiers turned back all the refugees at the frontier.

   Synonyms:

   drive away, repel, turn away, stop

5. (transitive) To adjust to a previous setting.
   • In Autumn we normally turn the clocks back one hour.
6. (transitive) To fold something back; to fold down.
   • When you make the bed, please always turn the sheet back over the blanket.

See all 7 meanings of turn back