turn

phrases

• at every turn

  wherever or whenever someone tries to do something

  He was frustrated at every turn by petty rules and regulations.

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• by turns

  changing from one state, mood, or quality to another

  Maria is by turns protective and vulnerable.

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• done/cooked to a turn

  cooked for exactly the right amount of time

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• a good/bad turn

  1. 1

     an action that helps/harms someone

     He had done her a good turn.

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  2. 2

     one good turn deserves another

     used for saying that you should be kind to someone who has been kind to you

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• in turn

  1. 1

     as a result of something that is part of a connected series of events

     Her mother taught her, and she in turn taught her own daughter.

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  2. 2

     one after the other in an order that has been agreed or officially decided

     We look at each element of the process in turn.

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• on the turn

  British
  starting to change

  My luck’s definitely on the turn now.

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• speak/talk out of turn

  to say something that you should not say because you have no right to say it or because it upsets someone

  I hope I’m not speaking out of turn, but I preferred the original version.

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• take turns

  or take it in turn(s) British

  if people take turns or take it in turns to do something, each of them does their share of it, one after the other

  We took turns steering the boat.

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• the turn of the century/year

  the time around the end of one century/year and the beginning of the next

  a mansion built at the turn of the century

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• turn of mind

  a particular way of thinking

  She has a very practical turn of mind.

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• turn of phrase

  1. 1

     an expression

     That’s a rather unfortunate turn of phrase.

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  2. 2

     a particular way of expressing yourself

     As a letter writer he had a neat turn of phrase.

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• turn of speed

  British
  1. 1

     the ability to go very fast

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  2. 2

     a sudden large increase in speed

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