turn down

British  

verb

1. to reduce (the volume or brightness) of (something)

   turn the radio down

2. to reject or refuse

3. to fold down (a collar, sheets on a bed, etc)

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adjective

1. (prenominal) capable of being or designed to be folded or doubled down

turn down Idioms  

1. Fold or double down, as in They always turn down your bed here , or Turn down your collar . [c. 1600]

2. Invert, as in She turned down her cards , or They turn down the glasses in the cupboard . [Mid-1700s]

3. Reject, fail to accept, as in They turned down his proposal , or Joe was turned down at four schools before he was finally accepted . [Late 1800s]

4. Diminish in volume, brightness, or speed. For example, Please turn down the radio; it's too loud , or They turned down the lights and began to dance . [Second half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden turned down invitations to participate.

From The Wall Street Journal

Relegation-threatened Forest want to strengthen their squad before the transfer window closes on Monday and have made a bid for the Sweden international, but sources have told BBC Sport the offer will be turned down.

From BBC

Abraham also turned down Arsenal on that occasion, as he viewed Roma's project under Mourinho as the ideal platform to progress - and the forward's time in Serie A should be viewed as a success.

From BBC

But when he finally turned down Wallace, the sun was already to the tree line.

From Literature

"But it's hard to turn down a home Games and there is something special about it coming back to Glasgow for me."

From BBC

Related Words

• dismiss
• rebuff
• refuse
• spurn