turn up
Britishverb
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(intr) to arrive or appear
he turned up late at the party
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to find or be found, esp by accident
his book turned up in the cupboard
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(tr) to increase the flow, volume, etc, of
to turn up the radio
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informal (tr) to cause to vomit
noun
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US and Canadian name: cuff. (often plural) the turned-up fold at the bottom of some trouser legs
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informal an unexpected or chance occurrence
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Increase the volume, speed, intensity, or flow of, as in Turn up the air conditioning; it's too hot in here . [Late 1800s]
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Find or be found, as in She turned up the missing papers , or Your coat turned up in the closet .
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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.
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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]
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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.
His friend turned up but Leo never did.
From BBC
A pair of young men turned up one night looking through the windows until a nearby business owner walked up to them and asked them to leave.
From Salon
Conservationists said it was "concerning" to find so many of the country's "most loved birds" turning up dead months before they were set to return to Scottish shores.
From BBC
Shelley Cowlin, whose home of 48 years in Thorpeness, Suffolk, was demolished in January, said tourists turning up to witness other people's suffering and even steal items from their gardens were "sick".
From BBC
Coal’s heart beat so hard he had to turn up the volume to hear what his mother was saying.
From Literature
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.
