turn up
Britishverb
-
(intr) to arrive or appear
he turned up late at the party
-
to find or be found, esp by accident
his book turned up in the cupboard
-
(tr) to increase the flow, volume, etc, of
to turn up the radio
-
informal (tr) to cause to vomit
noun
-
US and Canadian name: cuff. (often plural) the turned-up fold at the bottom of some trouser legs
-
informal an unexpected or chance occurrence
-
Increase the volume, speed, intensity, or flow of, as in Turn up the air conditioning; it's too hot in here . [Late 1800s]
-
Find or be found, as in She turned up the missing papers , or Your coat turned up in the closet .
-
Appear, arrive, as in His name turns up in the newspaper now and then , or Some old friends turned up unexpectedly . [c. 1700] This usage gave rise to turn up like a bad penny , meaning that something unwanted constantly reappears, as in Ken turns up like a bad penny whenever there's free liquor. Bad here alludes to a counterfeit coin.
-
Fold or be capable of being folded, as in I'll just turn up the hem , or He preferred cuffs that turn up . [c. 1600]
-
Happen unexpectedly, as in Something turned up so I couldn't go to the play . Also see the following idioms beginning with turn up .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We did a lot of research in terms of what time to turn up and what would be going on - it was a really good atmosphere in the fan park," he tells BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
After a surprise layoff by a fintech company five months ago, Abernathy blasted out a bunch of resumes, but that didn’t turn up much.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
You have to apply yourself — you have to turn up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
And his wife Meghan could still turn up in the UK this week, surrounded by the media circus that will inevitably accompany that moment.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Back before Axel was born, Byrd green-scaped the whole property from the turn up the driveway to the big red barn.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
