about-turn
See also: about turn
English
Etymology
From the imperative phrase used in the military.
Noun
about-turn (plural about-turns)
- A turn of 180 degrees, typically in a military formation.
- Total reversal of opinion or attitude.
- 2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, in Telegraph:
- A sell-out crowd of 10,000 then observed perfectly a period of silence before the team revealed their black armbands, complete with stitched-in poppies, for the match. After Fifa’s about-turn, it must have been a frantic few days for the England kit manufacturer. The on-field challenge was altogether more straightforward.
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Translations
turn of 180 degrees
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total reversal of opinion or attitude
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Verb
about-turn (third-person singular simple present about-turns, present participle about-turning, simple past and past participle about-turned)
- (intransitive) To turn 180 degrees, typically in a military formation.
Synonyms
- about-face
Related terms
- turnabout
- turn-about
Translations
to turn 180 degrees
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Anagrams
- turn about, turn-about, turnabout