Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
📄 To hand over 🔄 To flip 💰 To sell (business) 🌱 To dig up 🤔 To consider
to turn over

to turn over

24 3.4
Sell goods or services worth a total amount in a period
  • phrasal verb
  • /tɜrn ˈoʊvər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : facturar
  • The restaurant has turned over its entire stock by selling out every dish on the menu during the holiday season.

We have all these perishables to be able to keep your food fresh and in stock, but turn it over fast enough.

Examples

  • The retail store turned over $1 million in sales last quarter, marking a significant increase from the previous period.

  • We are not at liberty to reveal our employer, Mr. Scat, but we can say they turned over $18.4 billion last year.

    Syrup (2013)

  • Indeed, Americans are slow to turn over their stock of appliances.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Our profile, our ideal prospect is a company in this sector turning over this, who probably buys this sort of equipment.

  • We could be turning over £10,000 a week every week of the year.

    T2 Trainspotting (2017)

  • Last year, the small business turned over all of its inventory in just a few months, impressing its investors.

Synonyms

to sell
vsto turn over
∞ 1.0

To give something to someone for money

focuses on overall sales amount or business exchange
to turn
vsto turn over
299 4.4

Make a profit from a business or activity

focuses on sales volume or exchanging goods rather than profit
to move
vsto turn over
250 6.3

Sell goods, often to clear old stock

is about total sales or regular business exchange rather than quick clearance
to change hands
vsto turn over
12 3.4

To be sold or given to a new owner

usually refers to business sales totals or regular exchanges not single transfers
to trade hands
vsto turn over
1 4.3

To move from one owner to another when people buy or sell it

describes selling or sales amount rather than simple ownership change

Antonyms

decline
439 3.9

A gradual loss in amount, quality, or value

How Much

to boom
97 3.4
to sell like hot cakes
  • Informal
1 3.3
to turn over
  • Specialized
24 3.4
to sell
∞ 1.0
to unsell
8.4

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

turn + over

The sense 'to think carefully about' is a metaphorical extension of the physical idea of 'turning' something 'over' (as if examining all sides). While learners who know 'turn' and 'over' may get a hint from this physical image, the mental/figurative reading is not fully predictable without exposure to the phrasal verb pattern, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Turn over in business may come from the image of goods on a stall being 'turned' into new hands again and again. So the phrase now means the total amount a company 'sells' or passes through its business.