turn around
يستدير
Use it to describe physical rotation or transforming a negative situation into a positive success.
In 15 Sekunden
- Physically rotate your body to face the opposite way.
- Improve a bad situation or a failing business significantly.
- Change your direction or your opinion completely.
Bedeutung
When you rotate your body to face the opposite direction, or when you change a bad situation into a successful one.
Wichtige Beispiele
3 von 6Walking in the street
I had to turn around because I forgot my keys at home.
I had to turn around because I forgot my keys at home.
In a business meeting
The new CEO managed to turn the company around in just six months.
The new CEO managed to turn the company around in just six months.
Texting a friend
Turn around! I'm standing right behind you at the mall!
Turn around! I'm standing right behind you at the mall!
Kultureller Hintergrund
The phrase reflects the Western ideal of the 'self-made' success story and the belief that any failure can be reversed with effort. It became particularly popular in corporate culture during the 1980s to describe saving failing businesses. In social contexts, it's often used to describe personal redemption or overcoming addiction.
The Separable Rule
When using it for business or situations, you can put the object in the middle: 'Turn the situation around' or 'Turn around the situation' both work!
Don't confuse with 'Turn Over'
To 'turn over' usually means to flip something (like a pancake). 'Turn around' is for rotating or improving.
In 15 Sekunden
- Physically rotate your body to face the opposite way.
- Improve a bad situation or a failing business significantly.
- Change your direction or your opinion completely.
What It Means
Turn around is a versatile phrase. Physically, it means rotating your body 180 degrees. If you hear someone call your name from behind, you turn around. Metaphorically, it means a complete reversal. You can turn around a failing business or a bad day. It is about changing direction completely.
How To Use It
Use it as a phrasal verb. You can say "I turned around" (intransitive). You can also put an object in the middle. For example, "He turned the company around." It works for physical movement and abstract changes. It is simple, punchy, and very common in daily speech.
When To Use It
Use it when you are lost and need to go back. Use it at work when discussing improvements. If a project is failing, you want to turn it around. It is perfect for talking about personal growth too. If you were lazy but now you study hard, you turned your life around.
When NOT To Use It
Don't use it for small adjustments. If you just move a little bit, use shift or nudge. Avoid using it for spinning in circles. That is spinning or twirling. Also, don't use it for turning a page in a book. That is simply turning the page.
Cultural Background
In Western culture, the "comeback story" is huge. We love when an underdog turns things around. It represents resilience and the power of change. In business, a "turnaround specialist" is a high-paid expert. They save dying companies from bankruptcy. It’s a very positive, active phrase.
Common Variations
U-turn is a specific version for driving. Turnabout is a more formal noun. You might hear turnaround time in business. This refers to how long a task takes to finish. Do a 180 is a slang version. It means changing your opinion or direction completely.
Nutzungshinweise
The phrase is very safe to use in almost any context. Just remember that when used metaphorically, it almost always implies a change from negative to positive.
The Separable Rule
When using it for business or situations, you can put the object in the middle: 'Turn the situation around' or 'Turn around the situation' both work!
Don't confuse with 'Turn Over'
To 'turn over' usually means to flip something (like a pancake). 'Turn around' is for rotating or improving.
Turnaround Time
In offices, people ask 'What's the turnaround?' They mean 'How long until this is finished?'
Beispiele
6I had to turn around because I forgot my keys at home.
I had to turn around because I forgot my keys at home.
Describes a physical change in walking direction.
The new CEO managed to turn the company around in just six months.
The new CEO managed to turn the company around in just six months.
Refers to making a failing company profitable again.
Turn around! I'm standing right behind you at the mall!
Turn around! I'm standing right behind you at the mall!
A direct command for physical movement.
Every time I try to diet, I turn around and find a donut in my hand.
Every time I try to diet, I turn around and find a donut in my hand.
Used humorously to show how quickly a situation changed.
I know things are hard now, but you have the strength to turn your life around.
I know things are hard now, but you have the strength to turn your life around.
Encouraging someone to change their life for the better.
Please turn around and face the front of the class.
Please turn around and face the front of the class.
A formal instruction from a teacher to a student.
Teste dich selbst
Choose the correct way to complete the sentence about a failing restaurant.
The restaurant was losing money, but the new menu helped ___.
To 'turn something around' means to make a failing situation successful again.
Complete the sentence for a physical action.
I heard a loud noise behind me, so I ___ to see what happened.
Physically rotating your body to see behind you is 'turning around'.
🎉 Ergebnis: /2
Visuelle Lernhilfen
Formality of 'Turn Around'
Shouting to a friend in the park.
Hey, turn around!
Daily conversation about life or tasks.
I need to turn my day around.
Business reports or serious advice.
We must turn around these quarterly results.
Where to use 'Turn Around'
Physical Movement
Rotating to face someone.
Business
Saving a failing project.
Driving
Going back because you missed a turn.
Personal Growth
Changing bad habits.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
10 FragenNo, it also means improving a bad situation. For example, She turned her grades around means she started getting better marks.
Yes, if you miss your exit, you can say I need to turn around. It means to head back in the opposite direction.
Absolutely! It sounds professional when you talk about how you turned around a difficult project.
As a noun, it's the time it takes to complete a task. The turnaround for this report is two days.
They are similar, but turn around specifically implies facing the opposite way (180 degrees), while rotate can be any amount.
Yes, but it's usually literal, like someone physically moving you, or metaphorical, like a song changing your mood.
If you keep going the same way, you are going straight or moving forward.
No, it is a standard phrasal verb used in all levels of English, from casual to formal.
Yes, if someone changes their mind completely, you can say they turned around on the issue.
That's wrong! For lights, use turn off or turn on. Turn around is only for direction or improvement.
Verwandte Redewendungen
Do a 180
To completely change your opinion or decision.
Bounce back
To recover quickly from a bad situation.
Flip the script
To reverse a situation or do something unexpected.
About-face
A sudden complete change in attitude or principle.
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