| Library / English Dictionary |
TURNING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Act of changing in practice or custom
Example:
the law took many turnings over the years
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("turning" is a kind of...):
change (the action of changing something)
Derivation:
turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
Example:
he took a turn to the right
Synonyms:
turn; turning
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("turning" is a kind of...):
change of course (a change in the direction that you are moving)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "turning"):
deflection; deflexion; deviation; digression; divagation; diversion (a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern))
right (a turn toward the side of the body that is on the south when the person is facing east)
left (a turn toward the side of the body that is on the north when the person is facing east)
kick turn (a standing turn made in skiing; one ski is raised to the vertical and pivoted backward to become parallel with the other ski but headed in the opposite direction and then the other ski is aligned with the first)
stem; stem turn (a turn made in skiing; the back of one ski is forced outward and the other ski is brought parallel to it)
telemark (a turn made in skiing; the outside ski is placed ahead and turned gradually inwards)
swerve; swerving; veering (the act of turning aside suddenly)
three-point turn (the act of turning a vehicle around in a limited space by moving in a series of back and forward arcs)
version (manual turning of a fetus in the uterus (usually to aid delivery))
Derivation:
turn (change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The activity of shaping something on a lathe
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("turning" is a kind of...):
formation; shaping (the act of fabricating something in a particular shape)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The end-product created by shaping something on a lathe
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("turning" is a kind of...):
end product; output (final product; the things produced)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A movement in a new direction
Example:
the turning of the wind
Synonyms:
turn; turning
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("turning" is a kind of...):
motion; movement (a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "turning"):
reversal; turn around (turning in an opposite direction or position)
swerve; yaw (an erratic deflection from an intended course)
gyration; revolution; rotation (a single complete turn (axial or orbital))
coming back; return (the occurrence of a change in direction back in the opposite direction)
volution (a rolling or revolving motion)
Derivation:
turn (change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense)
Sense 6
Meaning:
A shaving created when something is produced by turning it on a lathe
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("turning" is a kind of...):
paring; shaving; sliver (a thin fragment or slice (especially of wood) that has been shaved from something)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb turn
Context examples:
For someone with Alzheimer's disease, there's no turning back the clock.
(Predicting Alzheimer's-like memory loss before it strikes, National Science Foundation)
In contrast, turning off the neurons while the mice were awake or in other sleep states had no effect on memory.
(The brain may actively forget during dream sleep, National Institutes of Health)
Turning off the light in his room so that it might not betray him, he went out the port-hole feet first.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
“What do you mean?” I demanded; for, having sped his shaft, he was turning away.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Mrs. Reed took her hand away, and, turning her face rather from me, she remarked that the night was warm.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Pray sir, turning to the waiter, did not you hear, did not his servant say whether he belonged to the Kellynch family?
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
I know that everything was turning round, and the words of the clergyman were just like the buzz of a bee in my ear.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
"Thank you," said Messner. Then, turning to her companion, "By the way, Doctor, what is your name, if I may ask?"
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
After a couple of minutes' unbroken silence, Henry, turning to Catherine for the first time since her mother's entrance, asked her, with sudden alacrity, if Mr. and Mrs. Allen were now at Fullerton?
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
“Sherlock has all the energy of the family,” said Mycroft, turning to me.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
