Turn around means to turn so that you face the opposite direction, or to make something that was going badly start going well. In the first meaning it's about a person or a car: She turned around and smiled. In the second it's about a company, a team or someone's studies: turn things around.
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turn around (to face someone); turn + the car + around; turn + a business/things + around; turn it around
- When I called her name, she turned around and waved at me.
- We took the wrong exit, so we had to turn around and drive back.
- Two bad seasons nearly ruined the club, but a new coach turned things around.
What changed
First versionThe shop was losing money, but the new manager turned around it in a year.
RevisionThe shop was losing money, but the new manager turned it around in a year.
When the object is the pronoun it, it goes between turn and around: turned it around. The order turned around it is not possible here. With a noun both orders work: turned the shop around and turned around the shop.
Turn around means to face the other way; turn over means to flip or be flipped: turn over the page, the car turned over on the ice. The two look similar, but a car that turned around drove back, while a car that turned over is lying on its roof.
Your turn
The road ahead was closed, so the driver had to ___ and go back to the main street.
Show the answer
turn around — The road is closed, and the driver needs to turn and go back, so turn around. Turn over would mean the car flipped over, and that is an accident.
Describe a situation you managed to change for the better: your studies, a project or a habit. Say what was going badly and what helped you turn it around.
My grades were falling in the first term, but weekly study plans helped me turn things around by the summer.
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