turn
TURN Scrabble score is four points: T, U, R, and N each contribute one point before board bonuses.
Verb 4 meanings
To make a non-linear physical movement.
“the Earth turns”
To change condition or attitude.
“Near-synonyms: become, get, go, come, fall, grow, wax”
To change one's course of action; to take a new approach.
To complete.
“They say they can turn the parts in two days.”
Noun 4 meanings
A change of direction or orientation.
“Give the handle a turn, then pull it.”
A movement of an object about its own axis in one direction that continues until the object returns to its initial orientation.
A walk to and fro.
“Let's take a turn in the garden.”
A chance to use something shared in sequence with others.
“They took turns playing with the new toy.”
Etymology
From Middle English turnen, from Old English turnian, tyrnan (“to turn, rotate, revolve”), from Proto-West Germanic *turnēn (“to turn, lathe”) (also the source of German turnen and its derivatives) and Old French torner (“to turn”), both from Latin tornāre (“to round off, turn in a lathe”), from tornus (“lathe”), from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “turning-lathe: a tool used for making circles”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, rub by turning, turn, twist, bore”).
Similar and opposite words
TURN is a common four-letter word with uses tied to movement: changing direction, rotating around an axis, or walking to and fro. That range makes it work as both a noun and a verb, while its letter values remain unusually straightforward. You can also rearrange the same tiles into RUNT, its sole anagram.
TURN at a glance
- TURN has four letters, and T, U, R, and N each score one point.
- Its four tile values add up to a base Scrabble score of four.
- RUNT is the only anagram made from the same letters.
- Fourteen one-letter neighbors include familiar BURN and TORN.
- TURN rhymes with 12 words, including BURN, CHURN, and RETURN.
What does TURN mean?
TURN means a change of direction or orientation. A car takes a turn at a bend; a person turns toward a sound. The word also describes an object's rotation around its own axis, so a wheel's movement fits the same core idea.
A less expected definition is a walk to and fro. That sense keeps TURN from being only about a pivot or change of course: the word can describe repeated movement back and forth as well. Its familiar spelling suits all three meanings without changing form.
What is the TURN Scrabble score?
The TURN Scrabble score starts at four points because all four tiles—T, U, R, and N—are worth one each. Premium squares can raise a play's total, but they do not change those letter values. That makes the base calculation quick, even when the board is crowded.
Changing one letter produces 14 neighbors, including BURN, TORN, TURF, and TERN. The familiar BURN and TORN are easy to spot; other neighbors are less common, so check your game's word list before relying on every swap.
TURN's rhyme family shares the ending sound in urn: examples include BURN, CHURN, and RETURN. There are 12 listed rhymes, ranging from short everyday words to longer choices such as OVERTURN and HEARTBURN. The shared ending can also help you remember the sound, though it does not make the words interchangeable.
Rhymes with turn
All rhymesOne letter away
Questions people ask
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