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Glite Dictionary
↩️ To return ⛔ To stop progress 🔄 To reverse
to turn back

to turn back

11 2.6
To make the inside face outwards
  • phrasal verb
  • /tɜrn bæk/
translation icon : dar la vuelta a
  • She decided to turn back the sweater she had bought, as it was too large.
  • turn back the clock

So turn back around, Bad, bad decision, really bad decision.

Examples

  • Wish that we could turn back the clock

    African Cats (2011)

  • Only God has the power to turn back time.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • We cannot turn back the clock, but hope is not lost for moving forward with dignity.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Not even storms of the sea could turn back those first settlers.

    The Big Trail (1930)

  • If I could turn back the clock, I would have been a better wife and a better mother and a better daughter and a better friend.

    The Available Wife (2020)

  • Even now, not a day goes by when I don't wish I could turn back the clock and change what happened.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • We must not allow slash-and-burn budgets to turn back the clock.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Sire, our infantry regiments have turned back and are retreating.

    War and Peace (1956)

  • Her heart pounded in an adrenaline rush of joy as she turned back the way she'd come.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The magician waved his wand and turned back the clock to reveal the past.

Synonyms

to reverse
vsto turn back
329 3.2

To change something so its position, order, or effect is opposite

focuses on flipping sides so the inner side becomes outer
to invert
vsto turn back
28 4.8

Turn something upside down, inside out, or change its usual order

also covers simple reversals of orientation beyond just upside down
to reorient
vsto turn back
8 5.6

To change the direction or main focus of something

involves flipping sides so the inner surface faces outward not just moving
to turn out
vsto turn back
4 3.0

To move legs or feet outward from the hips

means reversing orientation so the inner side becomes outer, not only pointing out
to retroflex
vsto turn back
  • Specialized
9.1

To bend something backward so it curves back on itself

is about turning a piece inside out rather than only bending backward

How Reversed

to reverse
329 3.2
to invert
28 4.8
to turn back
11 2.6
to flip
354 1.8

Surface Forms

turn back infinitive
turned back past
turned back past participle
turning back present participle
turns back third person singular

Morphology

turn + back

The meaning 'to go back or return' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'turn' (to change direction or move) with 'back' (toward a previous position). This verb + directional particle pattern is a common, compositional construction in English (and cross-linguistically), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Turn back comes from the simple action of flipping or folding an item so the inside faces out, like when you turn a shirt back to check the label under the collar. So it means 'to turn something so that the inside is on the outside'.