turnout

1 of 2

noun

turn·​out ˈtərn-ˌau̇t 

1

: the number of people who participate in or attend an event

a heavy voter turnout

2

a

: a place where something (such as a road) turns out or branches off

b

: a space adjacent to a highway in which vehicles may park or pull into to enable others to pass

c

: a railroad siding

3

: an act of turning out

4

chiefly British

a

: strike sense 3a

b

: striker sense 1d

5

: a clearing out and cleaning

6

a

: a coach or carriage together with the horses, harness, and attendants

b

: equipment, rig

c

: manner of dress : getup

7

: net quantity of produce yielded

turn out

2 of 2

verb

turned out; turning out; turns out

intransitive verb

1

a

: to come or go out from home in or as if in answer to a summons

voters turned out in droves

b

: to get out of bed

2

a

: to prove to be in the result or end

the play turned out to be a flop

it turned out that we were both wrong

b

: to become in maturity

nobody thought he'd turn out like this

c

: end

stories that turn out happily

transitive verb

1

: to put out by or as if by turning a switch

turn out the lights

2

: to produce often rapidly or regularly by or as if by machine

a writer turning out stories

3

a

: to turn inside out

turning out his pockets

b

: to empty the contents of especially for cleaning or rearranging

also : clean

4

a

: expel, evict

b

: to put (an animal, such as a horse) to pasture

5

: to equip, dress, or finish in a careful or elaborate way

6

: to call (a guard, a company, etc.) out from rest or shelter and into formation

Synonyms

Verb

• arise
• get up
• rise
• roll out
• uprise

Examples of turnout in a Sentence

Noun

The opening game of the season brought only a small turnout.

a 50 percent voter turnout

Verb

we turn out early on workdays

it's our practice to turn out the room after guests stay over

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Iowa is a difficult state to survey partly because turnout is difficult to predict and the number of swing voters who show up to caucus can be higher than expected. —Nicholas Nehamas, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023

But Tuesday evening, organizers said the total turnout was much higher, estimating that 290,000 people took part. —Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 14 Nov. 2023

That year saw unprecedented voter turnout, which in the end added up to Youngkin besting his Democratic rival Terry McAuliffe, who was seeking a second turn in the statehouse. —Grace Segers, The New Republic, 5 Nov. 2023

That’s exactly the message many Democratic strategists say is needed to drive turnout for this seat, which played ground zero for Youngkin’s culture-war clashes but has grown increasingly liberal with new arrivals. —Teo Armus, Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2023

One factor that may have affected Hollywood turnout was the announcement Wednesday afternoon of a deal between the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the studios, apparently ending more than six months of labor strife in the entertainment industry. —Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023

In 2008 and 2012 — when Barack Obama was on the ballot — Black turnout in Mississippi was only 34 percent and 35 percent, respectively. —Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2023

The biggest turnout this season was 25,336 for the game against UCLA. —Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Nov. 2023

The biggest surprise on election day was a turnout estimated at 73%, the highest figure in post-communist Poland’s history. —Ian Bremmer, TIME, 19 Oct. 2023

Verb

If that turns out to be true, a federal law that prohibits buying and selling the remains of Native Americans could come into play. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2023

Years later, Mark awakes from a coma in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, and well, his life didn’t turn out so great. —Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023

Remember that the first guy to recommend hand washing between surgeries was considered a quack in his day, and look at how that turned out. —Elizabeth Wickman, WSJ, 20 Nov. 2023

Perhaps, as has been suggested, our A.I. worries will years from now turn out to have been just another passing apocalyptic fancy, on the order of Y2K. —Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023

California’s economy The strikes put more than 100,000 actors and writers out of work, but all the other workers that were sidelined may be even more consequential in what turned out to be a labor standoff costing billions. —Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Nov. 2023

The answer might surprise you, when even a good bet might turn out to be a bad idea, mathematically. —Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 17 Nov. 2023

Brian Austin Green Fox’s next relationship would turn out to be her longest, with now ex-husband Brian Austin Green. —Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 8 Nov. 2023

There was good reason to be cautious: Some low-quality construction materials used between the 1950s and 1990s, for example, turned out to have a life span of just 30 years, leading to a ban on their use. —Peter Vanham, Fortune Europe, 8 Nov. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1688, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

1546, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 4a

Kids Definition

turnout

1 of 2 noun

turn·​out ˈtər-ˌnau̇t 

: the number of people who attend or who do something (as vote)

a good turnout at the meeting

expected a light voter turnout

turn out

2 of 2 verb

ˌtər-ˈnau̇t,

ˈtər-

1

: to put or empty out of a container

2

: to make by or as if by machine

the factory turns out automobiles

turns out a new story every month

3

: turn off sense 2

who turned out the light?

4

: to come or go out from home

thousands turned out to see them

5

: to prove to be

it turned out to be only the cat

of course, I turned out to be right