Online OXFORD Collocation Dictionary

turn noun

¹ act of turning sb/sth round

ADJ. full, half, quarter a full turn of the handle to the right | 90-degree, 180-degree, etc. | quick a quick turn of his head

VERB + TURN give sth Give the knob a turn.

² change of direction

ADJ. left/left-hand, right/right-hand | sharp | wide | sudden | three-point (see also U-turn)

VERB + TURN do, make, negotiate She stopped talking as she negotiated a particularly sharp turn.

PHRASES at every turn (figurative) At every turn I met with disappointment. | a turn to the left/right He made a sudden turn to the right. | twists and turns (figurative) trying to follow all the twists and turns of the plot

³ (also turning) bend/corner in a road

ADJ. next | wrong

VERB + TURN take He took a wrong turn and ended up on the coast road. | miss

PHRASES a turn on the left/right Take the next turn on the right. | twists and turns a lane full of twists and turns

⁴ time when you must or may do sth

VERB + TURN have, take Can I have a turn? I'll take a turn making the dinner?you have a rest. The children took turns on the swing. | miss If you can't put any cards down you have to miss a turn. | give sb Give Sarah a turn on the swing. | wait Be patient and wait your turn! | come to By the time it came to my turn to sing, I was a bag of nerves.

TURN + VERB come When my turn finally came, I was shaking with nerves.

PREP. in ~ (= one after the other) They gave their names in turn. | in sb's ~ She had not been friendly to Pete and he, in his turn, was cold to her when she came to stay. | out of ~ (= before or after your turn) I'm writing to you out of turn because I have some very important news.

⁵ change

ADJ. dramatic, sudden, unexpected | different, new | downward

VERB + TURN take Her career took an unexpected turn when she moved to New York.

PREP. by ~(s) This movie is by turn (= alternately) terrifying and very funny. | on the ~ (= changing) Our luck is on the turn.

PHRASES take a turn for the better/worse I'm afraid Grandma has taken a turn for the worse. | a turn of events In a dramatic turn of events she took control of the company into her own hands.