- present participle of turn.
turning
Americannoun
-
turnings
plural
noun
-
Also called: turn. a road, river, or path that turns off the main way
the fourth turning on the right
-
the point where such a way turns off
-
a bend in a straight course
-
an object made on a lathe
-
another name for turnery
-
(plural) the waste produced in turning on a lathe
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of turning
Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at turn, -ing 1
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.
See Examples For:
Contrary to what you learned in civics class, the grease that keeps the wheels of American democracy turning isn’t voters, legislation, or donor cash; it’s staffers.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
For more bearish investors, those issues raised questions about whether turning around the business is realistic.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
The rise of complex ecosystems on land was one of the major turning points in the history of life.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
But civil society and women's rights groups have denounced what they perceive as the government's delay in turning the bill into law.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
He was turning the compass over in his hands, examining it carefully.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
"We get a lot of head turnings, if people are driving by, you can tell by their eyes they're just like, what?"
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2025
His initial Sleeping Beauty Castle was built utilizing plywood, PVC, wood turnings and cast resin veneer, but he has since updated the structure with largely polyurethane foam boards and 3D-printed materials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2024
Oliver cheerily delivered a recap of stories from the last five months before turnings serious, calling the strike “an immensely difficult time” for all those in the industry.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2023
The dance is what the title suggests: the twistings and turnings of an insomniac, incarnated by the flexible Heriberto Meneses.
From New York Times ● Oct. 5, 2022
Yolanda climbs out as well and walks down a pace, until the boy has disappeared in one of the turnings of the road.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
