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Glite Dictionary
change of direction

change of direction

3 3.2
A move to face or go a different way
  • noun
translation icon : cambio de dirección
  • After a sudden change of direction, the car narrowly avoided hitting the pedestrian.

I mean, we're running now doing, doing a lot of change of direction stuff.

Examples

  • Without a doubt, it will mark a tremendous change of direction for his administration if he does.

    Blog text (19)

  • Labeling laws in this country need a wholesale change of direction.

    Blog text (10)

  • Well, that would certainly be a change of direction.

    Blog text (29)

  • I fixed it with a change of direction.

    Blog text (30)

  • So today we expected, we expected a change of direction after those six wasted years.

  • Finally, I am just shocked at the change of direction.

    Blog text (8)

  • The Cherry Lane Theater is in the middle of the block, just before the street's sudden change of direction.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Crist called the decision a "disappointing change of direction."

    Blog text (21)

  • Without a change of direction in our politics, the present tendencies towards decline can hardly be arrested, much less reversed.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Adopting a more active governmental stance would require a reasonably significant change of direction in conservative western states.

    Academic text (1990)

Synonyms

turn
vschange of direction
485 1.0

A change of direction in a road or path

is the broader term for the process of altering movement or orientation
turning
vschange of direction
22 2.5

A change of direction in a road or path

is the process of altering movement, facing, or orientation
swerve
vschange of direction
7 3.7

A sudden sharp turn to avoid something

is the neutral act not necessarily sudden or done to avoid hazards
deflection
vschange of direction
4 6.0

How much an object bends or moves away from a straight line

is general change rather than specifically being pushed off a straight course
change of course
vschange of direction
3 4.2

A move to a different direction physically or in plans

is the same idea used for both physical and figurative movement
reorientation
vschange of direction
3 6.2

A change of direction, focus, or beliefs to follow a new way

is about changing physical movement or facing rather than only mental shifts
redirection
vschange of direction
1 4.2

Changing the direction or destination of people, things, and resources

is the core act of altering movement not the broader shifting of focus or target
veering
vschange of direction
1 5.3

A sudden change of direction while moving

is the general process and may not imply sudden or quick motion
deflexion
vschange of direction
9.7

Bending of a beam or other part so it is not straight

is the general act of altering movement rather than bending away

How Sharp

to about-face
  • US
1 6.1
change of direction
3 3.2

Surface Forms

change of direction singular
changes of direction plural

Morphology

change + of + direction

The meaning 'the act or process of changing the direction' is directly and compositionally derived from the constituents 'change' + 'direction' with the linking preposition 'of', so a learner who knows those words can infer the phrase meaning. This noun phrase pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English nominal composition, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The phrase change of direction comes from the simple image of something turning: a runner, car, or person makes a change in its direction. That's why it now means the act of physically 'turning' or a sudden shift to a 'new plan'.