turn back
verb
turned back;
turning back;
turns back
Definition of turn back
1a
: to go in the reverse direction
b
: to stop going forward
2
: to refer to an earlier time or place
1
: to drive back or away
2
: to stop the advance of
3
: to fold back
turn back the clock
: to revert to or remind of a condition existing in the past
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Synonyms for turn back
Synonyms
beat off, fend (off), rebut, repel, repulse, stave off, turn away
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Examples of turn back in a Sentence
a cavalry charge that was turned back by withering fire
Recent Examples on the Web
In the offseason, the Texans let Covington leave in free agency, and Blackson turned back the other candidates for the open spot on Houston's defensive line. — Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, "Houston Texans value Angelo Blackson," 8 Sep. 2019 Benfey strolls through Kipling’s American years with the sensibility of a flaneur, pausing here over particular points of interest, turning back there for another look. — Maya Jasanoff, The New Republic, "Rudyard Kipling, American Imperialist," 22 Aug. 2019 Last month Ennis, who was attempting to climb the seven highest peaks on the planet, had to turn back about 200 meters from the top of Mount Everest. — Bill Goodykoontz, azcentral, "ESPN's 2019 Pat Tillman Award goes to Marine sergeant who lost leg in helicopter crash," 11 June 2019 But today the pendulum has turned back to a more balanced view of the corporation, which the Business Roundtable embraced at its founding in 1972. — Judith Samuelson, Quartz at Work, "Did the Business Roundtable just sound the death knell for shareholder primacy?," 19 Aug. 2019 Brown then turned back to Wilson and started running toward him. — David French, National Review, "On Ferguson, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris Told a Terrible Lie," 12 Aug. 2019 In the National Bracket’s other openers, Mizuno, Texas blanked Medina Valley 28-0, Welsh, La. stopped Southwest Kaos, Texas 14-4 and Stealth, Texas turned back San Benito 7-2. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "NASA-Orange 14s cruise to South Zone-opening win, League City All-Stars lose," 31 July 2019 A decade ago the Dewan Rakyat quietly turned back into a horseshoe. — The Economist, "Parliaments get facelifts; but it is politics that really needs one," 27 July 2019 When Freeman threw to waiting shortstop Dansby Swanson, Tatis turned back to first. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Padres notes: Tatis makes nothing spectacular; Munoz leveraging higher," 14 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'turn back.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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