turnout

American  

[turn-aut] / ˈtɜrnˌaʊt /

noun

• turnouts
  plural

1. the gathering of persons who come to an exhibition, party, spectacle, or the like.

   They had a large turnout at the meeting.

2. quantity of production; output.

3. an act of turning out.

4. the manner or style in which a person or thing is equipped, dressed, etc.

5. equipment; outfit.

6. a short side track, space, spur, etc., that enables trains, automobiles, etc., to pass one another or park.

7. Ballet. the turning out of the legs from the hips, with the feet back to back or heel to heel.

8. Railroads. a track structure composed of a switch, a frog, and closure rails, permitting a train to leave a given track for a branching or parallel track.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• turnouts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of turnout

First recorded in 1680–90; noun use of verb phrase turn out

Explanation

Turnout means the total number of people who show up to vote or gather for an event. The success of democratic elections depends on voter turnout — how many people actually get out and vote. Voter turnout is crucial in an election, but turnout is not always about politics. When ballet dancers talk about turnout, they're referring to their ability to rotate their legs outward from the hips down to the toes. A turnout is also a place in the road where cars can turn around.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

turnout turnouts

Voter turnout and last-minute choices are expected to be key.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

The annual oat-off has never been more popular, with double the number of entrants than the previous highest turnout.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

But it’s telling that, unless a massively popular sport with a built-in audience is involved, the turnout for a Pitt movie is waning.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

His ballot helped the village reach a record 100% voter turnout.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Judging by the turnout at “Back to School Night,” it makes me wonder if some of the parents have thrown up their hands as well.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

Overall, this round of action is thought to be the third-largest in top-flight history, with the two above it boosted by festive turnouts, including Harlequins' annual Big Game fixture drawing near-capacity crowds to Allianz Stadium.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026

Instead of relying on longstanding survey methods to predict opening-weekend turnouts, theater owners are putting more weight on presales, the tickets people buy to reserve seats sometimes weeks in advance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026

“It’s just one election, but certainly the seeds have been planted for strong Latino Democratic turnouts in 2026,” said Brad Jones, a political science professor at UC Davis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2025

For decades, Iran’s leaders could point to high voter turnouts in their elections as proof of the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic’s political system.

From New York Times ● May 21, 2024

Granger games against Armstead always got the highest fan turnouts, particularly from alumni, even though we usually lost.

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

Related Words

• output
• productivity
• turnover
• volume
• yield