Turn up means to make something louder or stronger (the sound, the heating, the heat on a cooker), or to arrive or appear. About people, “turn up” is often used when someone arrives unexpectedly or late: He turned up an hour late. About a lost thing, “turn up” means to be found.
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turn up + volume/music/heating; turn it up; person + turn up (at + place/late); lost thing + turn up
- Could you turn up the radio? I think they're talking about the traffic on our road.
- Half the guests turned up late because of the snow, so we started dinner at nine.
- My missing earring turned up a week later in the pocket of my winter coat.
What changed
First versionI can't hear the speaker in this video. Can you turn on the volume?
RevisionI can't hear the speaker in this video. Can you turn up the volume?
“Turn on” means to switch on something that was off. The video already has sound; it just needs to be louder, so the right phrase is “turn up the volume”.
The opposite action is “turn down”, to make quieter: Turn the music down, please, the baby's asleep. But “turn down” has a second meaning, “refuse” (turn down an offer), and “turn up” has no such meaning.
Your turn
I thought I had lost my passport, but it ___ in the side pocket of my suitcase.
Show the answer
turned up — The passport was thought to be lost and then was found in a side pocket of the suitcase, so “turned up” is right. “Turned out” means “proved to be” and needs the idea to continue, for example “it turned out to be in my suitcase”.
Write about a guest or colleague who turned up unexpectedly or very late. Say who it was and how you reacted.
My cousin turned up at our flat on a Sunday morning without calling, so we quickly made extra pancakes for breakfast.
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