Turn v. i.
1. To move round; to have a circular motion; to revolve entirely, repeatedly, or partially; to change position, so as to face differently; to whirl or wheel round; as, a wheel turns on its axis; a spindle turns on a pivot; a man turns on his heel.
The gate . . . on golden hinges turning. --Milton.
2. Hence, to revolve as if upon a point of support; to hinge; to depend; as, the decision turns on a single fact.
Conditions of peace certainly turn upon events of war. --Swift.
3. To result or terminate; to come about; to eventuate; to issue.
If we repent seriously, submit contentedly, and serve him faithfully, afflictions shall turn to our advantage. --Wake.
4. To be deflected; to take a different direction or tendency; to be directed otherwise; to be differently applied; to be transferred; as, to turn from the road.
Turn from thy fierce wrath. --Ex. xxxii. 12.
Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways. --Ezek. xxxiii. 11.
The understanding turns inward on itself, and reflects on its own operations. --Locke.
5. To be changed, altered, or transformed; to become transmuted; also, to become by a change or changes; to grow; as, wood turns to stone; water turns to ice; one color turns to another; to turn Muslim.
I hope you have no intent to turn husband. --Shak.
Cygnets from gray turn white. --Bacon.
6. To undergo the process of turning on a lathe; as, ivory turns well.
7. Specifically: --
(a) To become acid; to sour; -- said of milk, ale, etc.
(b) To become giddy; -- said of the head or brain.
I'll look no more;
Lest my brain turn. --Shak.
(c) To be nauseated; -- said of the stomach.
(d) To become inclined in the other direction; -- said of scales.
(e) To change from ebb to flow, or from flow to ebb; -- said of the tide.
(f) Obstetrics To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.
8. Print. To invert a type of the same thickness, as temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.
To turn about, to face to another quarter; to turn around.
To turn again, to come back after going; to return. --Shak.
To turn against, to become unfriendly or hostile to.
To turn aside or To turn away. (a) To turn from the direct course; to withdraw from a company; to deviate. (b) To depart; to remove. (c) To avert one's face.
To turn back, to turn so as to go in an opposite direction; to retrace one's steps.
To turn in. (a) To bend inward. (b) To enter for lodgings or entertainment. (c) To go to bed. [Colloq.]
To turn into, to enter by making a turn; as, to turn into a side street.
To turn off, to be diverted; to deviate from a course; as, the road turns off to the left.
To turn on or To turn upon. (a) To turn against; to confront in hostility or anger. (b) To reply to or retort. (c) To depend on; as, the result turns on one condition.
To turn out. (a) To move from its place, as a bone. (b) To bend or point outward; as, his toes turn out. (c) To rise from bed. [Colloq.] (d) To come abroad; to appear; as, not many turned out to the fire. (e) To prove in the result; to issue; to result; as, the crops turned out poorly.
To turn over, to turn from side to side; to roll; to tumble.
To turn round. (a) To change position so as to face in another direction. (b) To change one's opinion; to change from one view or party to another.
To turn to, to apply one's self to; to have recourse to; to refer to. “Helvicus's tables may be turned to on all occasions.” --Locke.
To turn to account, profit, advantage, or the like, to be made profitable or advantageous; to become worth the while.
To turn under, to bend, or be folded, downward or under.
To turn up. (a) To bend, or be doubled, upward. (b) To appear; to come to light; to transpire; to occur; to happen.