turn
verb (used with object)
to cause to move around on an axis or about a center; rotate.
were turning
-
past progressiveof turn.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
He was gazing at Nantucket Harbor, where ferries were turning toward the mainland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
"There is this concern about potentially having a middle-income trap for many emerging market economies," he said, pointing to limited sources of growth in a world where advanced economies were turning inwards.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
“We didn’t see it at the time, but item by inky item we were turning him into a New York icon,” wrote former Page Six reporter and editor Susan Mulcahy in a 2016 Politico piece.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Yet audiences in the thousands were turning up nightly to see Gibbard reanimate the peak-millennial classics that made him one of indie rock’s defining stars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
But five- and six-piece dance bands were turning out huge piles of graphophone records, and we tried to buy them all.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
