turn to

verb

turned to; turning to; turns to

intransitive verb

: to apply oneself to work : act vigorously

… all hands turn to and build a church and a jail …

—Mark Twain

Examples of turn to in a Sentence

no need to turn to violence when we can talk things out peacefully

Recent Examples on the Web

Even before the Clancy trial began, the forensic psychiatrist Susan Hatters-Friedman pointed out to me how quickly the discourse around the case had turned to postpartum psychosis, a rare disorder that affects about one in a thousand new mothers. — Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026

Now, the conversation surrounding Texas centers on whether Arch Manning can make it through Saturday night’s showdown against Ole Miss without Sarkisian being forced to turn to backup KJ Lacey. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026

Curt Cignetti, though, chose to stick with Hoover instead of turning to his seventh-year backup, and the fifth-year quarterback delivered. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026

The Stallions turned to senior Parker Armstrong, who started two years at Scripps Ranch High in San Diego. — Caleb Otte, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for turn to

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou