Reverse vs. Turn — What's the Difference?

Turned backward in position, direction, or order

To cause to move around an axis or center; cause to rotate or revolve

Moving, acting, or organized in a manner contrary to the usual

To cause to move around in order to achieve a result, such as opening, closing, tightening, or loosening

Causing backward movement

To alter or control the functioning of (a mechanical device, for example) by the use of a rotating or similar movement

(Printing) Printed in such a way that the normally colored part appears white against a colored or black background.

To perform or accomplish by rotating or revolving

The opposite or contrary

To change the position of so that the underside becomes the upper side

The back or rear part

To spade or plow (soil) to bring the undersoil to the surface.

The side of a coin or medal that does not carry the principal design; the verso.

To reverse and resew the material of (a collar, for example).

A change to an opposite position, condition, or direction.

To revolve in the mind; meditate on; ponder

A change in fortune from better to worse; a setback

To give a rounded form to (wood, for example) by rotating against a cutting tool.

A mechanism, such as a gear in a motor vehicle, that is used to reverse movement.

To give a rounded shape to (clay, for example) by rotating and shaping with the hands or tools.

The position or operating condition of such a mechanism.

To give a rounded form to

Movement in an opposite direction.

To give distinctive, artistic, or graceful form to

(Football) An offensive play in which a ball carrier running in one direction executes a handoff to a player running in the opposite direction.

To change the position of by traversing an arc of a circle; pivot

To turn around to the opposite direction

To present in a specified direction by rotating or pivoting

To turn inside out or upside down

To cause (a scale) to move up or down so as to register weight

To exchange the positions of; transpose

To fold, bend, or twist (something).

(Law) To change or set aside (a lower court's decision).

To change the position or disposition of by folding, bending, or twisting

To cause to adopt a contrary viewpoint

To make a bend or curve in

To change to the opposite

To blunt or dull (the edge of a cutting instrument).

To cause (an engine or mechanism) to function in reverse.

To injure by twisting

To direct that (a charge) apply to the person receiving instead of making a telephone call.

To upset or make nauseated

To turn or move in the opposite direction.

To change the direction or course of

To reverse the action of an engine.

To divert or deflect

Opposite, contrary; going in the opposite direction.

To reverse the course of; cause to retreat

Pertaining to engines, vehicle movement etc. moving in a direction opposite to the usual direction.

To make a course around or about

To be in the non-default position; to be set for the lesser-used route.

To reach and pass (a specified age)

Turned upside down; greatly disturbed.

To change the purpose, intention, or content of by persuasion or influence

(botany) Reversed.

To change the order or disposition of; unsettle

(genetics) In which cDNA synthetization is obtained from an RNA template.

To aim or focus

In a reverse way or direction; in reverse; upside-down.

To devote or apply (oneself, for example) to something

The opposite of something.

To cause to act or go against; make antagonistic

The act of going backwards; a reversal.

To cause to go in a specific direction; direct

A piece of misfortune; a setback.

To send, drive, or let go

The tails side of a coin, or the side of a medal or badge that is opposite the obverse.

To pour, let fall, or otherwise release (contents) from or into a receptacle

The side of something facing away from a viewer, or from what is considered the front; the other side.

To cause to take on a specified character, nature, identity, or appearance; change or transform. Used with to or into

The gear setting of an automobile that makes it travel backwards.

To affect or change the color of

A thrust in fencing made with a backward turn of the hand; a backhanded stroke.

To make sour; ferment

(surgery) A turn or fold made in bandaging, by which the direction of the bandage is changed.

To exchange; convert. Used with to or into

(transitive) To turn something around so that it faces the opposite direction or runs in the opposite sequence.

To keep in circulation; sell and restock

(transitive) To turn something inside out or upside down.

To make use of

(transitive) To transpose the positions of two things.

To get by buying and selling

(transitive) To change totally; to alter to the opposite.

To perform successfully; complete

To return, come back.

(Slang) To perform (an act of prostitution)

To turn away; to cause to depart.

To move around an axis or center; rotate or revolve.

To cause to return; to recall.

To have a sensation of revolving or whirling, especially as a result of dizziness or giddiness

(legal) To revoke a law, or to change a decision into its opposite.

To change position from side to side or back and forth

To cause a mechanism to operate or move in the opposite direction to normal; to drive a vehicle in the direction the driver has the back.

To progress through pages so as to arrive at a given place

(chemistry) To change the direction of a reaction such that the products become the reactants and vice-versa.

To operate a lathe.

To place (a set of points) in the reverse position.

To be formed on a lathe

To move from the normal position to the reverse position.

To direct one's way or course

To engage reverse thrust on (an engine).

To change or reverse one's way, course, or direction

To overthrow; to subvert.

To change one's actions or attitudes adversely; become hostile or antagonistic

(computing) reverse-engineer

To attack suddenly and violently with no apparent motive

Turned backward; having a contrary or opposite direction; hence; opposite or contrary in kind; as, the reverse order or method.

To channel one's attention, interest, or thought toward or away from something

Turned upside down; greatly disturbed.

To devote or apply oneself to something, as to a field of study

Reversed; as, a reverse shell.

To convert to a religion.

That which appears or is presented when anything, as a lance, a line, a course of conduct, etc., is reverted or turned contrary to its natural direction.

To switch one's loyalty from one side or party to another.

That which is directly opposite or contrary to something else; a contrary; an opposite.

To have recourse to a person or thing for help, support, or information

The act of reversing; complete change; reversal; hence, total change in circumstances or character; especially, a change from better to worse; misfortune; a check or defeat; as, the enemy met with a reverse.

To start to use (something) as a solution to a problem or relief of distress

The back side; as, the reverse of a drum or trench; the reverse of a medal or coin, that is, the side opposite to the obverse. See Obverse.

To depend on something for success or failure; hinge

A thrust in fencing made with a backward turn of the hand; a backhanded stroke.

To change so as to be; become

A turn or fold made in bandaging, by which the direction of the bandage is changed.

To change; become transformed. Used with to or into

To turn back; to cause to face in a contrary direction; to cause to depart.

To change color

To cause to return; to recall.

To become sour

To change totally; to alter to the opposite.

To be stocked and sold

To turn upside down; to invert.

To become dull or blunt by bending back. Used of the edge of a cutting instrument.

Hence, to overthrow; to subvert.

The act of turning or the condition of being turned; rotation or revolution.

To overthrow by a contrary decision; to make void; to under or annual for error; as, to reverse a judgment, sentence, or decree.

A change of direction, motion, or position

To return; to revert.

A place, as in a road or path, where a change in direction occurs; a curve

To become or be reversed.

A change or deviation, as in a trend

A relation of direct opposition;

A change or development in a particular way

The gears by which the motion of a machine can be reversed

A variation of a given kind or type

An unfortunate happening that hinders of impedes; something that is thwarting or frustrating

A point marking the end of one period of time and the beginning of the next

The side of a coin or medal that does not bear the principal design

The midway point in a round of 18 holes of golf, at which the first set of nine holes has been completed.

(American football) a running play in which a back running in one direction hands the ball to a back running in the opposite direction

A period of participation

Turning in the opposite direction

A chance or opportunity

Change to the contrary;

One of a series of such opportunities accorded people in succession or in scheduled order

Turn inside out or upside down

An attack of illness or severe nervousness.

Rule against;

A momentary shock or scare

Annul by recalling or rescinding;

A characteristic mood, style, or habit; a natural inclination

Directed or moving toward the rear;

A distinctive, graceful, or artistic expression or arrangement of words

Reversed (turned backward) in order or nature or effect

A deed or action having a good or bad effect on another

Of the transmission gear causing backward movement in a motor vehicle;

A short walk or excursion out and back

A single wind or convolution, as of wire on a spool.

(Music) A figure or ornament, usually consisting of four or more notes in rapid succession and including the principal note, the one a degree above it, and the one a degree below it.

A brief theatrical act or stage appearance.

A transaction on the stock market involving both a sale and a purchase.

The fourth community card in Texas hold'em.

Upper Southern & South Atlantic US An amount that can be carried or transported in one load

To make a non-linear physical movement.

(intransitive) Of a body, person, etc, to move around an axis through itself.

(transitive) To change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation.

(intransitive) To change one's direction of travel.

(transitive) To shape (something) symmetrically by rotating it against a stationary cutting tool, as on a lathe.

(by extension) To give form to; to shape or mould; to adapt.

(transitive) To position (something) by folding it, or using its folds.

To navigate through a book or other printed material.

Of a bowler, to make (the ball) move sideways off the pitch when it bounces.

Of a ball, to move sideways off the pitch when it bounces.

(intransitive) To change condition or attitude.

(copulative) To become begin to be.

(intransitive) To change the color of the leaves in the autumn.

To change fundamentally; to metamorphose.

To reach a certain age.

To hinge; to depend.

To rebel; to go against something formerly tolerated.

To change personal condition.

To change one's course of action; to take a new approach.

To complete.

(transitive) To make (money); turn a profit.

Of a player, to go past an opposition player with the ball in one's control.

To undergo the process of turning on a lathe.

(obstetrics) To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.

To invert a type of the same thickness, as a temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.

(archaic) To translate.

To magically or divinely attack undead.

A change of direction or orientation.

A movement of an object about its own axis in one direction that continues until the object returns to its initial orientation.

(geometry) A unit of plane angle measurement based on this movement.

A walk to and fro.

A chance to use (something) shared in sequence with others.

A spell of work, especially the time allotted to a person in a rota or schedule.

One's chance to make a move in a game having two or more players.

A figure in music, often denoted ~, consisting of the note above the one indicated, the note itself, the note below the one indicated, and the note itself again.

The time required to complete a project.

A fit or a period of giddiness.

A change in temperament or circumstance.

(cricket) A sideways movement of the ball when it bounces (caused by rotation in flight).

(poker) The fourth communal card in Texas hold 'em.

The flop (the first three community cards) in Texas hold 'em.

A deed done to another; an act of kindness or malice.

A single loop of a coil.

(rope) A pass behind or through an object.

Character; personality; nature.

(soccer) An instance of going past an opposition player with the ball in one's control.

A short skit, act, or routine.

A type turned upside down to serve for another character that is not available.

The profit made by a stockjobber, being the difference between the buying and selling prices.

To cause to move upon a center, or as if upon a center; to give circular motion to; to cause to revolve; to cause to move round, either partially, wholly, or repeatedly; to make to change position so as to present other sides in given directions; to make to face otherwise; as, to turn a wheel or a spindle; to turn the body or the head.

To cause to present a different side uppermost or outmost; to make the upper side the lower, or the inside to be the outside of; to reverse the position of; as, to turn a box or a board; to turn a coat.

To give another direction, tendency, or inclination to; to direct otherwise; to deflect; to incline differently; - used both literally and figuratively; as, to turn the eyes to the heavens; to turn a horse from the road, or a ship from her course; to turn the attention to or from something.

To change from a given use or office; to divert, as to another purpose or end; to transfer; to use or employ; to apply; to devote.

To change the form, quality, aspect, or effect of; to alter; to metamorphose; to convert; to transform; - often with to or into before the word denoting the effect or product of the change; as, to turn a worm into a winged insect; to turn green to blue; to turn prose into verse; to turn a Whig to a Tory, or a Hindu to a Christian; to turn good to evil, and the like.

To form in a lathe; to shape or fashion (anything) by applying a cutting tool to it while revolving; as, to turn the legs of stools or tables; to turn ivory or metal.

Hence, to give form to; to shape; to mold; to put in proper condition; to adapt.

To translate; to construe; as, to turn the Iliad.

To make acid or sour; to ferment; to curdle, etc.: as, to turn cider or wine; electricity turns milk quickly.

To make a turn about or around (something); to go or pass around by turning; as, to turn a corner.

To sicken; to nauseate; as, an emetic turns one's stomach.

To move round; to have a circular motion; to revolve entirely, repeatedly, or partially; to change position, so as to face differently; to whirl or wheel round; as, a wheel turns on its axis; a spindle turns on a pivot; a man turns on his heel.

Hence, to revolve as if upon a point of support; to hinge; to depend; as, the decision turns on a single fact.

To result or terminate; to come about; to eventuate; to issue.

To be deflected; to take a different direction or tendency; to be directed otherwise; to be differently applied; to be transferred; as, to turn from the road.

To be changed, altered, or transformed; to become transmuted; also, to become by a change or changes; to grow; as, wood turns to stone; water turns to ice; one color turns to another; to turn Muslim.

To undergo the process of turning on a lathe; as, ivory turns well.

To become acid; to sour; - said of milk, ale, etc.

To become giddy; - said of the head or brain.

To invert a type of the same thickness, as temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.

To be nauseated; - said of the stomach.

To become inclined in the other direction; - said of scales.

To change from ebb to flow, or from flow to ebb; - said of the tide.

To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.

The act of turning; movement or motion about, or as if about, a center or axis; revolution; as, the turn of a wheel.

Change of direction, course, or tendency; different order, position, or aspect of affairs; alteration; vicissitude; as, the turn of the tide.

One of the successive portions of a course, or of a series of occurrences, reckoning from change to change; hence, a winding; a bend; a meander.

A circuitous walk, or a walk to and fro, ending where it began; a short walk; a stroll.

Successive course; opportunity enjoyed by alternation with another or with others, or in due order; due chance; alternate or incidental occasion; appropriate time.

Incidental or opportune deed or office; occasional act of kindness or malice; as, to do one an ill turn.

Convenience; occasion; purpose; exigence; as, this will not serve his turn.

Form; cast; shape; manner; fashion; - used in a literal or figurative sense; hence, form of expression; mode of signifying; as, the turn of thought; a man of a sprightly turn in conversation.

A change of condition; especially, a sudden or recurring symptom of illness, as a nervous shock, or fainting spell; as, a bad turn.

A fall off the ladder at the gallows; a hanging; - so called from the practice of causing the criminal to stand on a ladder which was turned over, so throwing him off, when the signal was given.

A round of a rope or cord in order to secure it, as about a pin or a cleat.

A pit sunk in some part of a drift.

A court of record, held by the sheriff twice a year in every hundred within his county.

Monthly courses; menses.

An embellishment or grace (marked thus, ), commonly consisting of the principal note, or that on which the turn is made, with the note above, and the semitone below, the note above being sounded first, the principal note next, and the semitone below last, the three being performed quickly, as a triplet preceding the marked note. The turn may be inverted so as to begin with the lower note, in which case the sign is either placed on end thus , or drawn thus .

A circular segment of a curve;

The act of changing or reversing the direction of the course;

The activity of doing something in an agreed succession;

An unforeseen development;

A movement in a new direction;

Turning away or in the opposite direction;

Turning or twisting around (in place);

A time for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else);

(sports) a period of play during which one team is on the offensive

A short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program;

A favor for someone;

Taking a short walk out and back;

Change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense;

Undergo a change or development;

Undergo a transformation or a change of position or action;

Cause to move around or rotate;

Pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become;

To send or let go;

Pass to the other side of;

Move around an axis or a center;

Cause to move around a center so as to show another side of;

Change to the contrary;

To break and turn over earth especially with a plow;

Change color;

Cause to change or turn into something different;assume new characteristics;

Let (something) fall or spill a container;

Twist suddenly so as to sprain;

Shape by rotating on a lathe or cutting device or a wheel;

Go sour or spoil;

Accomplish by rotating;

Get by buying and selling;

Cause to move along an axis or into a new direction;

Channel one's attention, interest, thought, or attention toward or away from something;

Cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form;

Alter the functioning or setting of;

Direct at someone;

Have recourse to or make an appeal or request for help or information to;

Become officially one year older;