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Glite Dictionary
🔎 To happen 👥 To gather 💡 To switch off 🏭 To produce 🚪 To expel ⏰ To get up 🩰 To rotate outward 👗 To dress up
to turn out

to turn out

74 3.5
People come to an event in large numbers
  • phrasal verb
  • /tɜrn aʊt/
translation icon : acudir
  • Voters in November turned out governing party candidates in seats that had been safe for decades.
  • turn out in large numbers
  • turn out in force
  • thousands turn out

Who would have thought that so many people would turn out for someone they've never laid eyes on before?

Examples

  • Opposition political parties find it difficult to get this natural constituency to turn out on election day.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Look at these crowds who turned out to hear him speak.

  • Well, we, they just showed that people turn out, people vote, and then they respect the vote.

  • Some fear can actually lead to people not turning out to vote.

  • Trump supporters will turn out, and the supporters of Biden just need to turn out in even larger numbers.

  • Who would have thought that so many people would turn out for someone they've never laid eyes on before?

    Harvard University

  • Half the neighborhood turned out for that ballgame.

    Ironweed (1987)

  • For this one, local education advocates expect the voters and national media to turn out in droves.

    Academic text (1994)

  • 20,000 people turned out last night at a football stadium in Mobile, Alabama, to hear Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

    Death of a Nation (2018)

  • Thousands of fans turned out to support their team during the championship game.

Synonyms

to attend
vsto turn out
∞ 1.7

To be present at a meeting or event

comes to an event mainly as a large audience rather than regular attendance
to gather
vsto turn out
∞ 1.0

Bring people, things, or information together in one place

describes people coming to an event themselves rather than being gathered by others
to get together
vsto turn out
  • Informal
118 2.8

To bring people together for a meeting or activity

implies large numbers arriving for an event, not a small planned meeting
to gather around
vsto turn out
70 1.9

Come together in a group near someone or something

refers to people arriving for an event, not only clustering around one person
to flock to
vsto turn out
43 3.4

To go to a place in large numbers because many people want to be there

comes to an event in large numbers regardless of attraction
to make an appearance
vsto turn out
36 3.5

Go to an event, often briefly or in a formal way

means many people come for the event, not just a short appearance

Antonyms

to stay home
336 1.0

Be at home and not go out

to no-show
2 4.2

To fail to go to a planned meeting or appointment without telling anyone

How Many

to swarm
89 3.2
to flock to
43 3.4
to turn out
74 3.5
to attend
∞ 1.7
to show up
∞ 1.4

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

turn + out

The dressing sense is only partially derivable from the constituents: 'turn' (change) + 'out' (outward) can be linked to altering outward appearance, but the specific meaning 'dress/equip someone' depends on knowing the phrasal-verb usage rather than pure composition. Because 'turn out' has several unrelated senses and the connection to clothing is metaphorical and not fully predictable, a B1 learner who only knows the words may not reliably infer this meaning.

Etymology

Turn out may come from people literally turning out of their houses into the street to see a public event; they 'turned out' from indoors to join the crowd. So it came to mean 'to come' or gather for something.