turn of the tide

1. A reversal of fortune, as in This last poll marked the turn of the tide, with our candidate gaining a sizable majority. Similarly, to turn the tide means “reverse a situation,” as in The arrival of reinforcements turned the tide in the battle. This idiom transfers the ebb and flow of the ocean's tides to human affairs. Although the idea is much older, the precise idiom dates from the first half of the 1800s.

Example Sentences

Last year marked a turn of the tide, as the junta saw a fresh wave of attacks from insurgents that have since pushed the military government to breaking point.

From BBC

But cruising is back and all signs point to a turn of the tide for the industry: More cruises are scheduled to depart the Port of Los Angeles next year than in 2019.

From Los Angeles Times

They say that people who are near death die generally at the change to the dawn or at the turn of the tide; any one who has when tired, and tied as it were to his post, experienced this change in the atmosphere can well believe it.

From Literature

Whereupon the captain tell him that he had better be quick—with blood—for that his ship will leave the place—of blood—before the turn of the tide—with blood.

From Literature

I was not sleepy, as the long sleep yesterday had fortified me; but I could not help experiencing that chill which comes over one at the coming of the dawn, which is like, in its way, the turn of the tide.

From Literature

Related Words

• climax 
• critical point 
• crux 
• culmination 
• juncture 
• twist