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left turn

left turn

14 1.0
Moving a vehicle to the left while driving
  • noun
  • /lɛft tɜrn/
translation icon : giro a la izquierda
  • At the next intersection, make a left turn to get onto Main Street.
  • make a left turn
  • probability of a left turn

the car Yeats over into a left turn lane with no signaling, no indication.

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Examples

  • Make a sharp left turn onto this narrow winding mountain road.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Lula makes a wide left turn onto Jeff Davis Highway.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • But if there was a person there, we were making a left turn going three Lane St.

  • We are making a left turn.

  • At the next intersection, make a left turn.

  • The participants were instructed to make left turns when they felt it was safe to do so.

    Academic text (2001)
  • One more block, one more left turn, and we're back on Maple Avenue.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Make a left turn.

  • All right, now, everybody keep your eyes peeled, because we've got to make a left turn soon.

  • Breedan puts on the left turn signal and waits for the sign.

    Fiction book (1995)

Synonyms

left
vsleft turn
793 1.0

The hand or side of the body opposite the right

denotes the specific act of turning toward that side while moving
lewie
vsleft turn
  • Slang
9.9

A left turn while driving

refers to the act of turning toward the side opposite the right

Surface Forms

left turn singular
left turns plural

Morphology

left + turn

The political sense 'a shift toward left-wing policies' is directly derivable by combining 'left' (left-wing) with 'turn' (a change or shift). This spatial-to-political mapping is a regular, cross-linguistic metaphor, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The noun left turn comes from the simple picture of steering or walking and making a movement to the left: you make a turn so your body or car faces the left side. So it means 'an act of turning toward the left'.