Definition of "turn back" in English

Verb

1. To reverse direction and retrace one's steps.

   • Realising he had forgotten his briefcase, he turned back and re-entered the office.

2. To cause to reverse direction and retrace one's steps.

   • The barrage of machine-gun fire turned back the encroaching soldiers.

3. To return to a previous state of being.

   • He stopped drinking for a couple of years, but now he has turned back to his old ways.
   • Once we take this decision, there's no turning back.

4. To prevent, or refuse to allow, passage or progress.

   • The soldiers turned back all the refugees at the frontier.

5. To adjust to a previous setting.

   • In Autumn we normally turn the clocks back one hour.
   • I love that song: turn back to it!

6. To fold something back; to fold down.

   • When you make the bed, please always turn the sheet back over the blanket.

7. To give back; to return.