Definition

1. Verb (Transitive & Intransitive):
   • To cause to face or move in the opposite direction: To rotate something or someone so that they face the other way.
   • To reverse a negative trend or situation; to improve dramatically: To change the course of something, such as a business or performance, from failing or poor to successful or good.
   • To consider or process something thoughtfully: To think about something from a different perspective or to complete the processing of something (e.g., a task or order).

Usage Examples

• Verb (Physical Rotation):

  • Please turn around so I can see the back of your dress.
  • The bus had to turn around in the narrow street.

• Verb (Improving a Situation):

  • The new CEO managed to turn around the company's fortunes within a year.
  • With hard work, she turned her grades around.

• Verb (Processing/Considering):

  • The factory can turn around an order in 24 hours.
  • He needed a moment to turn the idea around in his mind.

Advanced Usage

• "to turn something around on someone": To reverse a criticism or argument back onto the person who made it.

  • When I accused him of being late, he turned it around on me by pointing out my own tardiness last week.

• "a turnaround" (Noun): A complete change, especially from a bad situation to a good one, or the time required to complete a process.

  • The project's financial turnaround was remarkable.
  • We offer a 48-hour turnaround for repairs.

Variants and Related Words

• Turnaround (Noun): The act of turning about to face the opposite direction; a reversal of policy or opinion; the time taken to complete a task or process.

  • The airport measured the turnaround time for each aircraft.

• Turnabout (Noun): A change to an opposite direction, position, or course of action.

  • His sudden support for the policy was a surprising turnabout.

Synonyms

• Reverse: To change to the opposite direction or course.
• Improve: To make or become better.
• Rotate: To move in a circle around a central point.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Turn back: To return the way one came.

  • The weather got worse, so we decided to turn back.

• Turn over: To give something to someone in authority; to rotate so the other side is up.

  • He turned over the evidence to the police.

Related Idioms

• Turn the tables: To reverse a situation so that you gain an advantage over someone who previously had an advantage over you.

  • She turned the tables on her competitor by launching a better product.

• Turn on a dime: To change direction or position very quickly and precisely.

  • This small car can turn on a dime.

Noun

1. turning in an opposite direction or position
   • the reversal of the image in the lens

Verb

1. improve significantly; go from bad to good
   • Her performance in school picked up
2. improve dramatically
   • The new strategy turned around sales
   • The tutor turned around my son's performance in math
3. turn abruptly and face the other way, either physically or metaphorically
   • He turned around to face his opponent
   • My conscience told me to turn around before I made a mistake