turnabout

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"turnabout" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“turnabout” is uncommon English (frequency #67,120 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,120
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of turning about so as to face in the opposite direction.

Corpus desk

Index EN-turnabout · turnabout · English

turnabout · rank #67,120 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,120
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH trivially

Nearest frequency peer: trivially (-2 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “turnabout”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “turnabout” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for turnabout
PropertyValue
Headwordturnabout
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#67,120
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “turnabout” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

turnabout is uncommon English at frequency #67,120 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for turnabout, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From turn + about. The correct English form is turnabout, spelled T-U-R-N-A-B-O-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of turning about so as to face in the opposite direction.
  2. 2
    A change from one thing to its opposite, or from a situation to the reverse.
  3. 3
    A reversal of a decision or opinion etc; a change of mind or flip-flop.
  4. 4
    A three-point turn or any similar act of turning around, with the same outcome, regardless of how many repeated forward-reverse maneuvers it takes.
  5. 5
    A merry-go-round.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It is a fine dance, fast and intricate, with many turnabouts. The women's long black hair swirls as they turn; […]
  2. Any idea of how many transsexuals there are in America? About 10,000, some 1500 of whom have changed their sex by surgery. The male-to-female turnabout costs $3000-$5000, while the female-to-male process runs up to $12,000.

Etymology

From turn + about.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "turnabout"?
"turnabout" is spelled T-U-R-N-A-B-O-U-T.
What does "turnabout" mean?
As a noun, "turnabout" means: The act of turning about so as to face in the opposite direction.
What is the origin of the word "turnabout"?
From turn + about. 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 "turnabout", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

trivially#67,118tricolour#67,117Stranraer#67,079Strafford#67,078

What to do next

You've looked up "turnabout". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #67,120 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list