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Glite Dictionary
💡 To start a device 🔥 To excite 😠 To become hostile 🎭 To display ability 🔗 To depend on 🌈 To get high
to turn on

to turn on

550 1.0
To make a machine or device start working
  • phrasal verb
  • /tɜrn ɑn/
translation icon : encender
  • I said to turn on the heater.
  • turn on the light
  • turn on the computer
  • turn on the fan

Just one thing before you turn it on, get the Dremel out.

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Examples

  • Go upstairs and turn on all the lights.

    Straw Dogs (1971)

  • Turn on the TV.

    Buck Southworth: U.S. Air Force Flight Crew (2021)

  • So really quickly, let me turn on the light here.

  • Would you like me to turn on the shower radio?

    Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

  • So let's go ahead and turn on the machine.

  • Turn on your TV now.

    Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)

  • I dragged my suitcase into number four and turned on the overhead light.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Please turn on the television so we can watch the game.

  • She asked him to turn on the air conditioner because it was too hot.

  • After the blackout, they hurried to turn on the generator.

Synonyms

to activate
vsto turn on
715 3.6

To make a machine, system, or account start working

focuses only on starting a device by pressing or moving a control rather than general activation
to switch
vsto turn on
123 1.0

To make a machine or light start working

is the simple action of starting a device using a brief manual control movement
to fire up
vsto turn on
  • Informal
55 3.5

Turn on a computer or other device so it starts working

is the neutral description for making a device begin operating by manual action
to start up
vsto turn on
38 3.0

To make a machine or system begin to work

refers specifically to initiating operation by a brief manual control action
to switch on
vsto turn on
32 1.6

To make a device like a light start working by pressing a button or moving a switch

is the more common phrasal form used in everyday speech rather than this wording
to flip the switch
vsto turn on
11 3.5

Cause a sudden change, for example by moving a small control to turn something on

is mainly about starting a device by a brief control action rather than sudden broader change
to crank up
vsto turn on
2 4.4

To start a machine by turning a handle

describes starting by pressing or moving a control rather than using a crank mechanism
to actuate
vsto turn on
  • Specialized
1 7.3

To make a machine start working

describes the everyday manual act of starting a device by pressing or moving a control
to crank the handle
vsto turn on
1 3.7

Turn a handle by hand to make a machine start or work

refers to initiating operation using a brief manual control movement rather than crank turning

Antonyms

to turn off
631 1.3

To stop a machine or device from working with a switch

How Ready

to come online
  • Specialized
24 3.7
to spool up
  • Specialized
1 8.1
to boot
  • Specialized
28 4.5
to turn on
550 1.0
to initialize
  • Specialized
1 6.6

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

turn + on

The meaning 'to depend on' is not directly derivable from the literal senses 'turn' (to change) and 'on' (active/powered), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely not predict this sense. There is a loose, somewhat metaphorical link (turn + on/upon → be determined by), but the particle usage is idiomatic and less frequent, making the expression only partially transparent.

Etymology

Turn on comes from the simple act of turning a knob or switch to make power flow and start a machine, as when you turn a switch on to light a lamp. That's why it means 'to make a device begin to work'.