turn back
/T ER1 N B AE1 K/- 1
To reverse direction and retrace one's steps.
“Realising he had forgotten his briefcase, he turned back and re-entered the office.”
- 2
To cause to reverse direction and retrace one's steps.
“The barrage of machine-gun fire turned back the encroaching soldiers.”
- 3
To return to a previous state of being.
“He stopped drinking for a couple of years, but now he has turned back to his old ways.”
- 4
To prevent or refuse to allow passage or progress.
“The soldiers turned back all the refugees at the frontier.”
- 5
To adjust to a previous setting.
“I love that song: turn back to it!”
- 6
To fold something back; to fold down.
“When you make the bed, please always turn the sheet back over the blanket.”
- 7
To give back; to return.
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