turnover

noun turn·over \ ˈtərn-ˌō-vər \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

1 a (1) : the amount received in sales for a stated period

(2) : the ratio of sales for a stated period to average inventory

(3) : a cycle of purchase, sale, and replacement of a stock of goods

b : the number of persons hired within a period to replace those leaving or dropped from a workforce; also : the ratio of this number to the number in the average force maintained

c : movement (as of goods or people) into, through, and out of a place

2 : the amount of business done; especially : the volume of shares traded on a stock exchange

3 : the act or an instance of a team's losing possession of a ball through error or a minor violation of the rules (as in basketball or football)

4 : a filled pastry made by folding half of the crust over the other half

5 : an act or result of turning over : upset

6 : a turning from one side, place, or direction to its opposite : shift, reversal

7 : a reorganization with a view to a shift in personnel : shake-up

8 : something that is turned over

9 : the continuous process of loss and replacement of a constituent (such as a cell or tissue) of a living system

See turnover defined for English-language learners

See turnover defined for kids

Examples of turnover in a Sentence

The company had an increase in turnover this quarter.
The company has a high turnover rate.
We want to find ways to speed up inventory turnover.

Recent Examples of turnover from the Web

One of the few bright spots for the team was its ability to successfully move the ball from defense to offense without committing a turnover.

— edward lee, baltimoresun.com, "Review & preview: McDaniel men’s lacrosse," 14 June 2018
And there have been whispers that a lack of investment in Nina Ricci has contributed to a fast turnover of designers: The house has had seven people in its top position in the 20 years since it was purchased by Puig in 1998.

— New York Times, "Dries Van Noten Sells Majority Stake to Puig," 14 June 2018
In the ninth minute, Cape picked up a turnover in the box and fired into the upper corner to put Brookfield Central up, 1-0, on the Wildcats (16-3-2).

— curt hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "WIAA state soccer: Brookfield Central rolls to final with 5-0 win over River Falls," 14 June 2018
Prior to 2001 there was a turnover tax imposed the people placing bets, which made gambling for challenging for anyone not blessed with extraordinary knowledge or remarkable luck.

— kim hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, "What the U.S. can learn about legalized sports betting from the U.K.," 6 June 2018
But thanks to a terrible turnover in the Caps’ defensive zone, Anthony Cirelli swooped in and nailed an empty-netter with just two seconds left: A potentially offsides empty net goal with two seconds left breaks under 6 bettors' hearts.

— charles curtis, For The Win, "A meaningless Lightning empty-net goal with nearly 1 second left cost bettors," 18 May 2018
That quickly went awry, though, as Conant forced a turnover.

— steve millar, Daily Southtown, "To the final horn: Senior forward Trevor Horn's shot stopped at buzzer as Lincoln-Way East falls to Conant," 18 May 2018
Morris scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds while pestering James into a playoff-high seven turnovers — and a playoff-low 15 points — and the Celtics opened a 21-point, first-quarter lead to scorch Cleveland 108-83 in Game 1.

— jimmy golen, Houston Chronicle, "Celtics take Game 1 of East Finals against Cavaliers," 13 May 2018
Wyoming out of the Mountain West Conference tallied a nation-leading 38 turnovers.

— jordan mcpherson, miamiherald, "Miami Hurricanes and turnover chain fans, there's a new bobblehead just for you | Miami Herald," 11 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'turnover.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of turnover

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 5

See Words from the same year

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Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

turnover

adjective

: capable of being turned over

First Known Use of turnover

circa 1849

in the meaning defined above

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turn over

verb

transitive verb

1 a : to turn from an upright position : overturn

b : rotate

turn over a stiff valve with a wrench

; also : to cause (an internal combustion engine) to begin firing

2 : deliver, surrender

I'm turning the job over to you

; also : to lose possession of

turned the ball over three times

3 a : to do business to the amount of

turning over $1000 a week

b : to receive and dispose of (a stock of merchandise)

4 : to search (clothes, papers, etc.) by lifting or moving one by one

5 : to read or examine (something, such as a book) slowly or idly

intransitive verb

1 : upset, capsize

2 a : rotate

b of an engine : to have crankshaft rotation especially by external means (as by a starter)

the engine turned over but didn't start

3 a of one's stomach : to heave with nausea

b of one's heart : to seem to leap or lurch convulsively with sudden fright

— turn over a new leaf

: to make a change for the better especially in one's way of living

See turn over defined for kids

Examples of turn over in a Sentence

reluctantly turned the ship over to the first mate while he went below to try to stop the leak
turned the evidence over to the police

Recent Examples of turn over from the Web

The poor child turned over on the bed with a groan, and was a little later found to be dead.

— Longreads, "Fairy Scapegoats: A History of the Persecution of Changeling Children," 9 June 2018
Attorneys for the estate of the man who died are again demanding Williams turn over her Apple iPhone 6S Plus so it can be examined in a wrongful death civil lawsuit.

— marc freeman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Venus Williams fatal crash: Lawyers fighting for tennis star's phone," 7 June 2018
On May 4, three days before the trial was to begin, prosecutors finally turned over the D.E.A. report with Mr. Guillen’s confession.

— benjamin weiser, New York Times, "Days Before Murder Trial, Prosecutors Reveal a Missing Confession," 6 June 2018
Instead, the potential witnesses simply turned over strings of WhatsApp and Telegram texts to FBI agents, who then got a court order to search Manafort’s iCloud account, according to court papers filed late Monday.

— derek hawkins, Washington Post, "The Cybersecurity 202: Paul Manafort's case may undermine the FBI's encryption argument," 6 June 2018
After completing its investigation, the FDLE will turn over its findings to the State Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether any charges will be filed.

— martin e. comas, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Police: Officers involved in shooting at Orlando condo complex," 4 June 2018
By mid-January, the Kings turned over the starting backcourt to Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic, and said veterans like Hill would take turns sitting out games to ensure the youngsters played enough.

— jason jones, sacbee, "George Hill had his ‘confidence zapped.’ Now he's living a ‘dream come true’ with Cavs," 30 May 2018
About a dozen years ago, Palminteri turned over the management of the market to Highland Park resident Lydia Davis and her son Edward.

— karen berkowitz, chicagotribune.com, "Ravinia Farmers Market turns 40," 29 May 2018
Musk then turned over questioning to YouTuber Galileo Russell, a fanboy investor who has published several fawning videos about Musk and Tesla.

— adrienne lafrance, The Atlantic, "Elon Musk Should Know Better," 29 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'turn over.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of turn over

14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

turn over Synonyms

TURNOVER Defined for English Language Learners

turnover

noun

: the amount of money that is received in sales by a store or company
: the rate at which people leave a place, company, etc., and are replaced by others
: the rate at which the goods in a store are sold and replaced by other goods