turnover

American  

[turn-oh-ver] / ˈtɜrnˌoʊ vər /

noun

turnovers plural

1. an act or result of turning over; upset.

2. change or movement of people, as tenants or customers, in, out, or through a place.

   The restaurant did a lively business and had a rapid turnover.

3. the aggregate of worker replacements in a given period in a given business or industry.

4. the ratio of the labor turnover to the average number of employees in a given period.

5. the total amount of business done in a given time.

6. the rate at which items are sold, especially with reference to the depletion of stock and replacement of inventory.

   Things are slow now, but they expect an increased turnover next month.

7. the number of times that capital is invested and reinvested in a line of merchandise during a specified period of time.

8. the turning over of the capital or stock of goods involved in a particular transaction or course of business.

9. the rate of processing or the amount of material that has undergone a particular process in a given period of time, as in manufacturing.

10. a change from one position, opinion, etc., to another, often to one that is opposed to that previously held.

11. a reorganization of a political organization, business, etc., especially one involving a change or shift of personnel.

12. a baked or deep-fried pastry with a sweet or savory filling in which half the dough is turned over the filling and the edges sealed to form a semicircle or triangle.

13. Basketball, Football. the loss of possession of the ball to the opponents, through misplays or infractions of the rules.

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adjective

1. that is or may be turned over.

2. having a part that turns over, as a collar.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• turnovers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of turnover

First recorded in 1605–15; noun use of verb phrase turn over

Explanation

When workers leave their jobs and are replaced by other workers, that's turnover. A totally different kind of turnover is a delicious baked good with a sweet filling. If an economist is talking about turnover, she probably means the rate at which a business loses employees, or how many jobs they have to fill over the course of a year. If that same economist is placing an order at a bakery, she may instead mean the flaky, triangle-shaped pastry that's wrapped around a fruit filling. In the work world, having a lot of turnover is a negative thing. In the pastry world, a high rate of turnovers doesn't sound bad at all.

Example Sentences

If Meta does not make suitable changes, it could be fined up to 6% of its total global annual turnover.

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2026

Her departure is the latest in a string of senior leadership changes at OpenAI, which has weathered significant executive turnover in recent years and has filed for a high-stakes IPO.

From Barron's • Jul. 9, 2026

Costco has long paid more than most U.S. retailers to help keep turnover low, a strategy the company’s founders believed would reduce costs associated with training new hires and lead to better customer service.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026

He obliged late in the fourth quarter Sunday, forcing a turnover that allowed guard Chris Mañon to breakaway for the tying layup with 28 seconds left.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 5, 2026

But there’s another noteworthy shift in these lists: a very quick rate of turnover.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Related Words

• coup
• innovation
• insurgency
• mutiny
• rebellion
• revolt
• shift
• strike
• transformation
• turmoil
• unrest
• upheaval
• uprising
• violence