Turn out or turnout?
turn out is a verb meaning “To end up; to result”; turnout is a noun meaning “The act of coming forth”. Use turn out as a verb and turnout as a noun. turn out is written as two words and turnout as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between turn out and turnout?
| turn out | turnout | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb, noun | noun |
| Meaning | To end up; to result To succeed; work out; turn out well | The act of coming forth The number or proportion of people who attend or participate in an event (especially an election) or are present at a venue |
| Example | I had hoped our first meeting would turn out better | When towing a trailer, use the turnouts to let faster traffic pass |
| Forms | none | turnouts |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈtɜː(ɹ)naʊt/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 4.8 times per million words |
Sources: turn out and turnout in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of turn out and turnout
turn out
- 1
To end up; to result
I had hoped our first meeting would turn out better
- 2
Alternative form of turnout
- 3
To succeed; work out; turn out well
I'm afraid the cake didn't turn out
- 4
To attend; show up
Hundreds of people turned out to see the parade
- 5
datedTo go out; to leave one's home
- 6
To extinguish a light or other device
Turn out the lights before you leave
- 7
To become apparent or known, especially (as) it turns out
It turns out that he just made a lucky guess
- 8
To produce; make
The bakery turns out three hundred pies each day
turnout
- 1
The act of coming forth
- 2
The number or proportion of people who attend or participate in an event (especially an election) or are present at a venue
- 3
USA place to pull off a road
When towing a trailer, use the turnouts to let faster traffic pass
- 4
USA place where moveable rails allow a train to switch tracks; a set of points
- 5
datedA quitting of employment for the purpose of forcing increase of wages; a strike
- 6
datedA striker
- 7
That which is prominently brought forward or exhibited; hence, an equipage
A man with a showy carriage and horses is said to have a fine turnout
- 8
Net quantity of produce yielded
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, turn out or turnout?
turn out is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; turnout 4.8 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search turn out vs turnout?
“turn out vs turnout” is searched about 30 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“turnout vs turn out”, “turn out or turnout”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.