turn

/tɜːn/

//tɜːn// verb

"turn" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“turn” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #484. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#484
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make a non-linear physical movement.

Corpus desk

Index EN-turn · turn · English

turn · rank #484 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #484
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH third

Nearest frequency peer: third (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “turn”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “turn” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

turn vs tut
50% similar
turn vs tux
50% similar
turn vs Tyr
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for turn
PropertyValue
Headwordturn
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/tɜːn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#484
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “turn”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).turnlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “third” (#483), “whether” (#485), “soon” (#482). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “turn” is #484. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around turn (IPA /tɜːn/), averb. Corpus frequency is #484 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 34 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for turn, with forms such as "trun", "tturn", and "tunr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tut", "tux", "Tyr", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-der. Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos)bor. Latin tornus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin tornōbor. Proto-West G… The correct English form is turn, spelled T-U-R-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  2. 2
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  3. 3
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  4. 4
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  5. 5
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  6. 6
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  7. 7
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  8. 8
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  9. 9
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  10. 10
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  11. 11
    To make a non-linear physical movement.
  12. 12
    To change condition or attitude.
  13. 13
    To change condition or attitude.
  14. 14
    To change condition or attitude.
  15. 15
    To change condition or attitude.
  16. 16
    To change condition or attitude.
  17. 17
    To change condition or attitude.
  18. 18
    To change condition or attitude.
  19. 19
    To change condition or attitude.
  20. 20
    To change condition or attitude.
  21. 21
    To change condition or attitude.
  22. 22
    To change condition or attitude.
  23. 23
    To change condition or attitude.
  24. 24
    To change condition or attitude.
  25. 25
    To change condition or attitude.
  26. 26
    To change one's course of action; to take a new approach.
  27. 27
    To complete.
  28. 28
    To make (money); turn a profit.
  29. 29
    Of a player, to go past an opposition player with the ball in one's control.
  30. 30
    To undergo the process of turning on a lathe.
  31. 31
    To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.
  32. 32
    To invert a type of the same thickness, as a temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.
  33. 33
    To translate.
  34. 34
    To magically or divinely repel undead.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how turn appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. the Earth turns
  2. turn on the spot

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-der. Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos)bor. Latin tornus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin tornōbor. Proto-West Germanic *turnēn Old English turnian ▲ Latin tornō Old French tornerbor. Middle English turnen English turn 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”). Cognate with Old English þrāwan (“to turn, twist, wind”), whence English throw. Displaced native Middle English wenden from Old English wendan (see wend), and Middle English trenden from Old English trendan (see trend), among several other terms.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • trun
  • tturn
  • tunr
  • turnn
  • turrn
  • utrn

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of turn - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

trun2tturn1tunr2turnn1turrn1utrn2
Edit distance from "turn"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "turn"?
"turn" is spelled T-U-R-N. The IPA pronunciation is /tɜːn/.
What does "turn" mean?
As a verb, "turn" means: To make a non-linear physical movement.
What words are commonly confused with "turn"?
"turn" is commonly confused with "tut", "tux", "Tyr". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "turn"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "turn" is /tɜːn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "turn"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-der. Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos)bor. Latin tornus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin tornōbor. Pr... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "turn", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list