turn to

phrasal verb

Word Forms

present tense
I/you/we/they	turn to
he/she/it	turns to
present participle	turning to
past tense	turned to
past participle	turned to

1
transitive (turn to someone) to go to someone for help when you are having difficulty dealing with a situation
I’m sorry, but I had no one else to turn to.
There are plenty of people you can turn to for advice.
Synonyms and related words
To ask someone for help
turn to
run to
beg
Synonyms and related words
To ask for, or to receive advice
consult
turn to
sound out
1. 1a
  (turn to something) to start to do or to use something in an attempt to help yourself when you are having difficulty dealing with a situation
  turn to crime/drink/drugs:
  He turned to drugs after his wife left him.
  Synonyms and related words
  To start doing something
  begin
  start on
  set about
2
linking verb (turn to something) same as turn into
Shock at the killings quickly turned to anger.
3
transitive (turn something to someone/something) to direct your attention, thoughts, etc. toward someone or something
It is time he turned his mind to more serious problems.
Synonyms and related words
To pay attention
concentrate
focus
listen
1. 3a
  transitive (turn to something) to start thinking about or discussing something
  Let’s turn to more important matters now.
  Synonyms and related words
  To mention something, or to be mentioned
  mention
  refer to
  invoke
4
transitive (turn to something) to start doing something new or different from what you were doing before
Karras, the ex-football star who later turned to acting
Synonyms and related words
To start doing something new or different
strike out
change over
begin
5
transitive (turn to something) to look for a particular page in a book
Turn to page 17 for our prices.
Synonyms and related words
To search for something or someone
go through
look out for
seek out
6
transitive (turn to something) same as turn
The minutes turned to hours and still no one came.
7
transitive (turn something to something) same as turn into
Roads were turned to mud by days of rain.
8
to get to work
All divisions will turn to until the job is done.
Submitted by:
Jim from United States on 08/09/2019
Open Dictionary - September2019