TURNING

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does turning mean? 

• TURNING (noun)
  The noun TURNING has 6 senses:

1. the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course

2. act of changing in practice or custom

3. a shaving created when something is produced by turning it on a lathe

4. a movement in a new direction

5. the end-product created by shaping something on a lathe

6. the activity of shaping something on a lathe

  Familiarity information: TURNING used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TURNING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of changing or reversing the direction of the course

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

turn; turning

Context example:

he took a turn to the right

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 2

Meaning:

Act of changing in practice or custom

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the law took many turnings over the years

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 3

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)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A movement in a new direction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

turn; turning

Context example:

the turning of the wind

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 5

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 6

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)

 Context examples 

The game will be yours, turning to her again; it will certainly be yours.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

You are all turning your brains towards getting into this country.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Turning to the Tin Woodman, she asked, "What will become of you when Dorothy leaves this country?"

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

What you say is very true, said the wife, sighing, and turning round her wheel; how happy should I be if I had but one child!

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Alas! Before turning in we went to look at poor Lucy.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

You should not buy electronics while Mercury is retrograde—not even while Mercury is close to turning retrograde or direct.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I expressed myself quite sure of that, and Mr. Barkis, turning his eyes more gently to his wife, said: She's the usefullest and best of women, C. P. Barkis.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“Is not she looking well?” said he, turning his eyes towards Jane.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

They always looked back before turning the corner, for their mother was always at the window to nod and smile, and wave her hand to them.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The Sausage stars are all turning around at about the same distance from the centre of the Galaxy.

(The Gaia Sausage: the major collision that changed the Milky Way, University of Cambridge)