turn on

British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to cause (something) to operate by turning a knob, etc

   to turn on the light

2. (intr, preposition) to depend or hinge on

   the success of the party turns on you

3. (preposition) to change or cause to change one's attitude so as to become hostile or to retaliate

   the dog turned on the children

4. informal (tr, adverb) to produce (charm, tears, etc) suddenly or automatically

5. informal to interest (someone) in something

   how to turn kids on to drama

6. slang (tr, adverb) to arouse emotionally or sexually

7. slang (intr, adverb) to take or become intoxicated by drugs

8. slang (tr, adverb) to introduce (someone) to drugs

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noun

1. slang a person or thing that causes emotional or sexual arousal

turn on Idioms  

1. Cause to begin the operation, flow, or activity of, as in Turn on the lights, please , or Don't turn on the sprinkler yet . [First half of 1800s]

2. Begin to display, employ, or exude, as in He turned on the charm . [Late 1800s]

3. Also, . Take or cause to take a mind-altering drug, as in The boys were excited about turning on , or They tried to get her high , or I told them I wouldn't get on tonight . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

4. Be or cause to become excited or interested, as in His mother was the first to turn him on to classical music . [c. 1900]

5. Be or become sexually aroused, as in He blushed when she asked him what turned him on . [Second half of 1900s]

6. Also, turn upon . Depend on, relate to, as in The entire plot turns on mistaken identity . This usage, first recorded in 1661, uses turn in the sense of “revolve on an axis or hinge.”

7. Also, turn upon . Attack, become hostile toward, as in Although normally friendly, the dog suddenly turned on everyone who came to the door . Also see turn against .

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Example Sentences

In Huerta’s case, critics just don’t buy how someone who carried Chávez’s torch decades after his death could all of a sudden supposedly turn on him.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

Gabriel Sherman: I guess the darkest anecdote, or one of, I should say, is the way Rupert manipulated his children to turn on each other to advance his own agenda and aims.

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2026

But attracting the broadest pool of viewers and marketers might turn on whether microdrama can expand beyond its current telenovela and Hallmark Channel style to other genres.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

However, the same consistency does not seem to apply to the DNA that controls when genes turn on or off.

From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026

This wasn’t one of his movies, something he could turn on and off.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

• activate
• log on
• put on
• switch on