turns 1 of 2

present tense third-person singular of turn
1
as in rotates
to move (something) in a curved or circular path on or as if on an axis turned the doorknob as quietly as possible

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Relevance
2
3
as in deviates
to change one's course or direction we turned left at the light the storm unexpectedly turned south and missed our area

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4
5
6
7
as in depends
to be determined by, based on, or subject (to) what we do next turns on your answer to the following question

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8
as in spins
to be in a confused state as if from being twirled around all the new information made his head turn

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9
as in convinces
to cause to have often negative opinions formed without sufficient knowledge he did his best to turn his new friends against his ex-wife

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turns

2 of 2

noun

plural of turn
1
2
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4
5
as in bouts
a sudden experiencing of a physical or mental disorder a sudden turn of dizziness that may have been brought on by a change in her medication

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6
as in acts
a performance regularly presented by an individual or group between the show's two major musical acts, there was a short turn by a juggling troupe

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of turns
Verb
These events occur when extremely hot underground water suddenly turns into steam, expands, and blasts apart the surrounding rock. Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026 Find out what the bill does when one workflow triples its tool calls after a model upgrade, because that is the scenario that turns a modest platform fee into a line item the CFO wants explained. Janakiram Msv, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026 In the case of Zach Dell, who turns 30 this month, at least he’s built a home battery and tech business successfully fundraising on a $13 billion valuation. Jordan Blum, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2026 Novelist, musician, and filmmaker Eliza Barry Callahan turns genre on its ear, with voluptuous nocturnal celluloid cinematography by Alfonso Herrera Salcedo. Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026 When the light turns green, and the signal tells him to cross. Michele Gile, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026 The story turns Hishem, on a customs officer on the Algerian-Tunisian border, who encounters Tesla, a donkey lost in the desert with headphones over his ears, with a bag of cocaine on his back. Annika Pham, Variety, 4 Aug. 2026 Kim also barred Kendall from contacting his son, with limited exceptions subject to court approval, until November 2035, when the boy turns 16. Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026 The two nearly go their separate ways until Lestat turns a young girl (Kirsten Dunst) whose mother died from the plague. Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026
Noun
The 42-year-old righty has allowed nine homers in eight starts this season, permitting at least one in five turns and coughing up multiple home runs in three. Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026 With its hairpin turns and madcap improvisations, the odyssey at the book’s center can seem, says our reviewer, like something sketched out by Jules Verne. Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2026 Their children — Graham (played at 12 by Noah Alexander Sosnowski and later at 17 by Gabriel Barbosa) and Ruth (played at 8 by Riley Chung and 13 by Emma Ho) — are at turns grating, nonsensical, and ill-defined like everything else in the film. Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026 People who live in the area said that this is a dangerous stretch of road due to the hills and winding turns. Riley Rourke, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026 New assistant coach Alice Chilton is a blatant remodeling of Roy Kent — a brusque ex-soccer player who’s reluctant to engage with Ted’s tomfoolery or personal prodding — but Tanya Reynolds’ performance is equal turns wounded and witty. Ben Travers, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026 Gasteyer received excellent reviews for her scene-stealing comic turns when the show opened Monday, April 20, at the Nederlander Theatre. Greg Evans, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2026 Small prey, with smaller bodies, can make abrupt, tight turns. Rachel Sargent Mirus, Hartford Courant, 3 Aug. 2026 The signals successfully navigated sharp turns and narrow bottlenecks without reflecting backward or leaking into neighboring channels. Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 1 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turns
Verb
  • The best viewing is generally after midnight, when Earth rotates into debris left by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Sacramento’s luxury suite at Golden 1 Center, obtained as part of $225 million in public financing for the arena, rotates among nonprofits through a city program.
    Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The Connecticut rapper’s debut swings from tongue-in-cheek provocations to slam-poetry clunkers, landing a few solid punchlines and pop hooks along the way.
    Lily Goldberg, Pitchfork, 3 Aug. 2026
  • If the answer swings on how the question was phrased, the model is not measuring anything about the match.
    Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Walsh’s spaceship deviates from many of the vessels seen in Star Wars, as those ships are often dirty and grubby to emphasize their use and wear.
    Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 10 Aug. 2026
  • And the days are coming when AI is meaningfully involved in clinical care, beyond just transcribing our own words, and the follow-up recommendation deviates from the standard of care.
    Frances Mei Hardin, STAT, 7 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Next week, for the first time ever, Taiwan will deliberately slow its mobile internet speed, testing how citizens would communicate if bandwidth becomes scarce in emergencies ranging ⁠from disasters to a Chinese invasion.
    Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Because the hive-minded beings communicate telepathically, re-recording mixer Larry Benjamin explained that the world often becomes unnaturally quiet, forcing the sound team to rethink where tension and comedy originate.
    Deadline, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Earnings out in August could be the catalyst that decides whether this flag revolves higher in the near term.
    Todd Gordon, CNBC, 29 July 2026
  • Sharing scenes with the other principal characters, intense or sensitive as the moment requires, Alice is the hub around whom the series revolves and hurtles forward.
    Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2026
Verb
  • Vieira ponders the dilemma from his own perspective as a coach, having had spells in charge at New York City, Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg and Genoa.
    Oliver Kay, New York Times, 15 June 2026
  • As coach John Hynes ponders his Game 1 starter, the recent numbers will show that Wallstedt has allowed a total of four goals in his final two regular-season starts, while veteran Filip Gustavsson has been touched for 10 in the same span.
    Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 15 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Prospects for whether this holds for TWICE depends substantially on what the remaining eight members decide to do with their own contracts.
    Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The city’s manufacturing ecosystem depends on rough stones sourced from around the world, processed by tens of thousands of workers, and funneled into global markets through trading networks centered in Mumbai.
    Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Burke teases out the mystery of what’s truly happened, and why, until the very end, when a twist spins the entire book on its axis.
    Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026
  • The ride swings like a pendulum, repeatedly turning thrill-seekers upside down while its passenger compartment spins.
    James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Turns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turns. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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