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

Dad turned down a darker street that crossed the Monon tracks.

From Literature

Back in the truck it seemed like she might warm to me, and now I was turning down her social invitation.

From Literature

"That's why I'm asking people to turn down the rhetoric," she added.

From BBC

She said she hadn’t been able to move out of her shelter in Brooklyn, in large part because she gets turned down by landlords scrutinizing her salary when she inquires about apartments.

From The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. has turned down repeated requests for tanker escorts from oil companies, said officials from Gulf countries.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dismiss
• rebuff
• refuse
• spurn