Turn on — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

to take sudden, violent action against

"it is dangerous to keep tigers as house pets, as they often turn on their masters without warning"

to move (something) in a curved or circular path on or as if on an axis

"turned the doorknob as quietly as possible"

to change the course or direction of (something)

"the dog turned the stampeding flock of sheep around"

"he turned his cart uphill"

to change one's course or direction

"we turned left at the light"

"the storm unexpectedly turned south and missed our area"

to eventually have as a state or quality

"will turn 12 in six months"

to move in circles around an axis or center

"the wheels turned, but the car was hopelessly stuck and wasn't moving"

to give serious and careful thought to

"turned the question every which way but could find no answer"

to be determined by, based on, or subject (to)

"what we do next turns on your answer to the following question"

to be in a confused state as if from being twirled around

"all the new information made his head turn"

to cause to have often negative opinions formed without sufficient knowledge

"he did his best to turn his new friends against his ex-wife"

to use or seek out as a source of aid, relief, or advantage

"no need to turn to violence when we can talk things out peacefully"

to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to

"Despite encouragement from his teachers, he turned his back on college."