turning

[ tur-ning ]

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that turns.
2. an act of reversing position.
3. the place or point at which anything bends or changes direction.
4. the forming of objects on a lathe.
5. an object, as a spindle, turned on a lathe.
6. an act of shaping or forming something:

   the skillful turning of verses.

turning

/ ˈtɜːnɪŋ /

noun

1. Also calledturn a road, river, or path that turns off the main way

   the fourth turning on the right

2. the point where such a way turns off
3. a bend in a straight course
4. an object made on a lathe
5. See turnery
   another name for turnery
6. plural the waste produced in turning on a lathe

Other Words From

• un·turning adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of turning¹

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; turn, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

When you typed a message, the turning wheels and the web of wiring inside them scrambled it.

From Washington Post

This rather unfounded optimism for the future is an important part of tradition when it comes to the turning of the calendar year.

From Quartz

It seems like a machine, so I’m just ready to be one of the turning parts of it.

From Washington Post

The Battle of Gettysburg that July is now seen as the war’s turning point, but Lincoln had yet to even issue the Emancipation Proclamation when he fell ill.

From Ozy

In fact, variolation saw a crucial turning point in American nearly half a century earlier—and was already widely used in India, Africa, and Turkey by that time.

From Popular-Science

But the tide was turning on this issue, an email from another constituent made clear.

From The Daily Beast

Emetophobia tends to compromise my relationships, turning me into a selfish jerk.

From The Daily Beast

These days, plenty of women are turning to online sites for no-frills male companionship.

From The Daily Beast

The numbers reinforce another article in the Post, in which cops confessed to “turning a blind eye” to minor crimes.

From The Daily Beast

The Butterbrief, issued by Pope Innocent VIII, was a turning point for the then bland Stollen, which gradually became sweeter.

From The Daily Beast

When he had finished, she took them from his hand, and turning them round in agitated silence, examined their seals and writing.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a great comparing of papers, and turning over of leaves, by Fogg and Perker, after this statement of profit and loss.

From Project Gutenberg

Of silence before them that salute thee: of looking upon a harlot: and of turning away thy face from thy kinsman.

From Project Gutenberg

Further enlightenment (as with men) comes through grace as soon as they become beati through turning to good.

From Project Gutenberg

He sang the words with an odd, emphatic slowness, turning to look at Lettice between the phrases.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• angle
• change
• corner
• curve
• departure
• direction
• reversal
• round
• shift
• spin
• spiral
• swing
• trend
• twist
• wind