# turning

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtɜː.nɪŋ/ · frequency rank #2,023

## Definitions
1. A turn or deviation from a straight course.
2. At hockey, a foul committed by a player attempting to hit the ball who interposes their body between the ball and an opposing player trying to do the same.
3. The cutting of wood or metal on a lathe to shape it as needed.
4. The act of one who turns (rotates or twists).
5. One of the four eras, each lasting for about 21 years, that make up a saeculum according to the Strauss-Howe generational theory.
6. Shavings produced by turning something on a lathe.

## Etymology
From Middle English turnyng, turnynge, from Old English tyrning, turnung, equivalent to turn + -ing.

## Easily confused with
- **turnip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/turning-vs-turnip)
- **Turin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/turin-vs-turning)
- **trying** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trying-vs-turning)
- **tuning** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tuning-vs-turning)
- **tiring** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tiring-vs-turning)
- **tubing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tubing-vs-turning)
- **Turing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/turing-vs-turning)
- **toning** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/toning-vs-turning)
- **touring** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/touring-vs-turning)
- **turbine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/turbine-vs-turning)
- **tanning** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tanning-vs-turning)
- **tucking** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tucking-vs-turning)
- **tugging** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tugging-vs-turning)

## Common misspellings (11)
`truning`, `tturning`, `tunring`, `turinng`, `turnign`, `turningg`, `turninng`, `turnnig`, `turnning`, `turrning`, `utrning`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/turning