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Glite Dictionary
↩️ To turn around 🔄 To change direction
to execute a U-turn

to execute a U-turn

3.5
Turn a vehicle in a U shape to go the other way
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : hacer un giro en U
  • She needed to execute a U-turn quickly when she saw the road sign indicating a detour.

Examples

  • After missing the exit, he had to execute a U-turn to get back on track.

  • When he comes to a dead end of inspiration, often marked by a dash, he pauses, then swerves in a new direction, reverses, or executes a U-turn.

    Academic text (2007)

  • At the intersection, the driver decided to execute a U-turn to head back home after realizing they were lost.

Synonyms

to turn around
vsto execute a U-turn
384 2.0

To move your body to face the opposite direction or change your attitude

is confined to the physical driving maneuver, not attitude change
to swing around
vsto execute a U-turn
10 3.2

Turn quickly to face the opposite direction

is a full vehicle turn rather than a sudden personal rotation
to turn round
vsto execute a U-turn
  • UK
1 1.4

Move your body so you face the opposite direction

is about a larger driving maneuver, not only a body movement
to about-face
vsto execute a U-turn
  • US
1 6.1

To turn quickly to face the other way

is a vehicle turning action rather than a quick body rotation
to bang a uey
vsto execute a U-turn
  • Australian
9.9

To turn a car quickly to go back the other way

is the neutral exact term for that driving maneuver

Antonyms

to go straight down
10 2.2

Move forward without turning along a street, hall, or stairs

How Abrupt

to bang a uey
  • Australian
9.9
to execute a U-turn
3.5
to turn around
384 2.0

Surface Forms

execute a U-turn infinitive
executed a U-turn past
executed a U-turn past participle
executing a U-turn present participle
executes a U-turn third person singular

Morphology

execute + a + U-turn

The phrase combines 'execute' (carry out) with 'U-turn' (a complete reversal of direction), so the figurative meaning 'carry out a reversal of policy/stance' is directly inferable from the parts. This physical-to-abstract mapping (reverse direction → reverse decision) is a common, cross-linguistic metaphor, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to understand it.

Etymology

Execute a U-turn comes from driving: when a driver executes a sharp U-turn, the car makes a U shape and goes the other way, so the phrase means 'to travel in the opposite direction'.