take a turn for the better

Idioms and Phrases

Improve, as in We thought she was on her deathbed but now she's taken a turn for the better . The antonym is take a turn for the worse , meaning “get worse, deteriorate,” as in Unemployment has been fairly low lately, but now the economy's taken a turn for the worse . This idiom employs turn in the sense of “a reversal,” a usage dating from about 1600.