turning

American  

[tur-ning] / ˈtɜr nɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that turns.

2. an act of reversing position.

3. the place or point at which anything bends or changes direction.

4. the forming of objects on a lathe.

5. an object, as a spindle, turned on a lathe.

6. an act of shaping or forming something.

   the skillful turning of verses.

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turning British  

/ ˈtɜːnɪŋ /

noun

1. Also called: turn.  a road, river, or path that turns off the main way

   the fourth turning on the right

2. the point where such a way turns off

3. a bend in a straight course

4. an object made on a lathe

5. another name for turnery

6. (plural) the waste produced in turning on a lathe

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Other Word Forms

• unturning
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of turning

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at turn, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

The suspect was briefly on the run before turning himself in at a local police station, according to Europa Press.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

Instead of relying entirely on electrons, which have formed the backbone of computers since the 1940s, scientists are now turning to light.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

Luengo herself holds the camera splendidly even in her character’s weaker moments, turning her charisma off whenever her father needs her to turn it on.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Altman said Musk floated turning OpenAI into a family business.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

I could see her turning the proposition over in her mind.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• aberration
• alteration
• anomaly
• breach
• detour
• discrepancy
• disparity
• divergence
• diversion
• fluctuation
• inconsistency
• irregularity
• modification
• variance
• variation