Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

turn back

verb

Definition of turn back

  1. intransitive verb

  2. 1a :  to go in the reverse directionb :  to stop going forward

  3. 2 :  to refer to an earlier time or place

  4. transitive verb

  5. 1 :  to drive back or away

  6. 2 :  to stop the advance of

  7. 3 :  to fold back

  8. 4 :  give back, return

turn back the clock

  1. :  to revert to or remind of a condition existing in the past

See turn back defined for kids

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail
alt-597233d35a146
Trending: 'Scaramouch,' Scaramucci Possibly to Fandango
emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz
image386126722
Words That Come From the Dinner Table

Examples of turn back in a Sentence

  1. a cavalry charge that was turned back by withering fire

First Known Use of turn back

15th century

turn back Synonyms

Synonyms
beat off, fend (off), rebut, repulse, stave off, turn away, repel
Related Words
defy, fight, hold off, oppose, resist, stand off, withstand; deflect, ward (off); rebuff, snub, spurn
Near Antonyms
embrace, hail, welcome

Learn More about turn back

  1. Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for turn back

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up turn back? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

tare

play

the weight of a container

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  2. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  3. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  4. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

  5. kakistocracy Frustrated Twitter users have been searching for this word.

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

turn back

Test Your Vocabulary

The Emoji Quiz

  • emoji-the-quiz
  • What phase of the moon is this: 🌖 ?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Give them your best

image386126722
Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

alt-596f730ceb5ae
Words We're Watching: 'Scoby'

Kombucha lovers unite.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game
Examples: turn back in a Sentence