Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

U-turn

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun [countable] British English pronunciation: U-turn 
Word Forms
Close
singularU-turn
pluralU-turns
  1. 1
    a sudden and complete change of policy by a government or by someone in authority. This word usually shows that you do not approve of someone who does this
    do a U-turn:

    The government was today accused of doing a U-turn after its decision not to raise petrol prices after all.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  U-turnThesaurus entry for this meaning of U-turn

This is the British English definition of U-turn. View American English definition of U-turn.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

zeugma

the use of a word twice in the same sentence but with different meanings. The sentence ‘She...

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog