- 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:
When CBS’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked whether broadcasting Hasan’s execution could encourage radicalization by turning him into a martyr, Mullin offered a blunt response: “No one has to watch it.”
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
Some people benefit from turning their toes inward, while others respond better when their toes point farther outward.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Instead, people were turning towards cheaper, unlicensed hire services which did not pay the same overheads, he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
And while it’s easy to create wealth through raising billions in capital or taking on debt, turning paper money into actual cash is harder to do.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026
All morning, they followed the trail through the beech wood and then through a spruce forest, turning north east and steadily climbing.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
"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
“He didn’t need any instruction really. He just took control, flown us around, made some turnings and basic maneuvers,” Hughes said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2024
But listening to one character after another hold forth on the turnings of the Wheel, I longed for a Gollum or an Arya Stark to kick some life into the works.
From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2021
Lizzie Griffin, who belonged to the toe, grinned at the crab’s frantic turnings as it tried to sort out claws and legs.
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
