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

As already mentioned, Brazil pioneered the use of drones for smuggling between prisons, but more recently, groups have also turned to using them as tools to drop explosives and monitor police movements. — Sol Amaya, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026

The Rattlers, led by Quinn Gray (a Fort Lauderdale Dillard alumnus who went to FAMU and had a brief NFL career before turning to coaching), played on Sunday, falling 31-13 to South Carolina State at Hard Rock Stadium in the Orange Blossom Classic. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 9 Sep. 2026

Mom grabbed the rag on the table and wiped the clean corner, dumped the rag in the sink, then turned to Crazy. — Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026

Then, when residents found out that someone may have intentionally torched the building, their sadness turned to anger. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 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