An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'turn out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
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Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them.
This post is all about 'turn out', which is a common and versatile English phrasal verb that will help to elevate your English if used correctly. In this post, I will be covering 8 different meanings and uses that it has, from pointing outwards to emptying something, with lots of examples in context to help you understand, memorise and use them. So, without further ado, let's make a start!
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TURN OUT: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 8 |
Past tense forms | Turned out / Turned out |
Separable? | Sometimes |
MEANINGS (Click to jump to each one)
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THE BASICS
I know that you are here to learn the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'turn out', however before we do that, it's a good idea to consider the individual words 'turn' and 'out' and their individual meanings.
Our base verb 'to turn' is a highly versatile and widespread verb, with a large range of meanings and applications, both literal and figurative. I think that the main meanings that people associate with it are 'rotating', 'changing direction' and 'changing from one thing to another'. Moreover, it is also used in many phrasal verbs, with 'turn out' being one of the most common.
I turned the handle to open the door.
John turned right at the traffic light when he should have turned right.
The weather is going to turn cold next week.
My son is turning 18 tomorrow. I don't feel old enough to have a child who is an adult!
Next, we have the prepositional particle 'out', which needs very little introduction from me. As you will undoubtedly know, the word 'out' is a key word in English and can function as a preposition, adverb, adjective and verb. Furthermore, it is the natural opposite of the particle 'in' and tends to be used in reference to being on, or moving towards the external part of something. When used in phrasal verbs, 'out' can add the ideas of motion or direction (pull out), exhaustion (run out), discovery (find out) and distribution (give out).
Now that we have covered the basics, let's dive into the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'turn out'....
MEANING 1: To point outwards
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CEFR Language Level | A2 - Elementary |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To point out / outwards, to face out / outwards |
Separable? | Yes |
We will begin with a rarer meaning of 'turn out', which is more of a literal meaning and so should be a nice and easy one to understand and that is 'to point outwards'.
Quite literally, this meaning is used to talk about when something turns and faces away from its centre.
In addition to this, it can also be used to describe when something turns or points away from an aligned position it is supposed to be in and this particular usage tends to be found with feet and toes a lot. For example, if you turn out your feet, then they are not pointing straight ahead, but instead to the left and right (like in the picture of the ballet dancers above).
Other nouns that are used with this first application of 'turn out' are for items that can physically fold or turn, which include mechanical objects or parts like wheels and handles, collars on clothes and edges of surfaces. You will often hear these being referred to in the passive sense i.e. is turned out etc.
The dancers turned their feet out in preparation to start the performance.
Simon's feet turned out slightly as he walked.
The wheels of the bike turned out slightly after the crash.
Donna's shirt collar turned out sharply, giving it a retro look.
MEANING 2: To switch off a light
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CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To turn off, to switch off, to shut off, to extinguish |
Separable? | Yes |
I imagine that many of already know that we can use the phrasal verbs 'switch off and 'turn off' to talk about extinguishing a light, but did you know that we can also use 'turn out' to mean the same thing?
This might seem strange and a bit of an idiomatic usage to you as normally in English lights are either on or off and so logically, turning or switching them off would make sense when talking about extinguishing them. The reason that we say 'turn out' as well is because in the past there were many devices that used flames or fire to provide light and when we talk about a fire that is no longer burning, we say that it is out and not off. Of course, nowadays we do not have many of these fire-generated lights anymore, however we still say 'turn out' to describe this action.
To note, whilst 'switch off' and 'turn off' can both be used to talk about all electronic devices, 'turn out' is mainly reserved for lights and, less commonly, heat giving devices. I would say that both of the alternatives are also used more commonly than 'turn out'.
Please can you turn out the light when you come to bed.
Kate forgot to turn out the Christmas tree lights before leaving for the weekend.
The city mayor asked all citizens to turn out their lights at midnight to help to conserve energy.
MEANING 3: To have an unexpected result
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CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To prove, to end up, to transpire, to become known, to come to light, to emerge |
Separable? | No |
Now we have arrived at our third meaning of 'turn out', which is the big one as this is the one that I hear being used by native speakers all the time. It means 'to have an unexpected result' but can also mean 'to happen in a particular way'.
Much of the time, this meaning is used by speakers to look back on specific past events or experiences and state what happened, especially if what happened was unpredicted or strange in some way.
From a grammatical perspective, 'turn out' can be followed by an infinitive, a 'that' clause or an adjective, so let's take a brief look at each one....
We usually use 'turn out followed by an infinitive (to + verb) to describe unexpected endings and outcomes, discoveries and surprises, similar to the expression 'to prove to be'. Moreover, the verb 'to be' is often the infinitive that is used here.
The customer meeting turned out to be better than we had expected.
Jenny's ex-husband turned out to be a very horrible person.
The rumour about my boss being pregnant turned out to be false.
The job turned turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated.
When we use this application of 'turn out' with a 'that' clause, we again want to give some information about surprise or unexpected outcomes, but we can also use it to refer to revealing information that was previously unknown, so it is a really good one for gossip! This is usually formed by the expressions 'it turned out that...' or 'it turns out that...'.
It turned out that John was already married and Sarah was his second wife! Can you believe it?!
The parcel that I had ordered still hadn't arrived after two weeks and it turned out that it had been delivered to my neighbour's house and she hadn't told me.
Do you remember my English teacher? Well, it turns out that he used to date my sister!
After making dinner for everyone, it turned out that nobody was hungry as they had already eaten!
If it turns out that he is lying to us, we will stop talking to him.
Lastly, we can use 'turn out' with an adjective to describe an unexpected quality of something or to describe how something ends or concludes, again if there is something surprising about the outcome.
The cake turned out delicious, despite everyone saying that I could not cook.
The weather has turned out ok today hasn't it. Thankfully, the rain has stayed away.
The exam turned out easier than I thought, so hopefully I have passed it.
Note that this usage does not take a direct object and is not separable.
MEANING 4: To attend something
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CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To attend, to turn up, to show up, to gather, to assemble |
Separable? | No |
Around the world this year, there have been a huge number of political elections taking place, with new presidents and heads of state being elected in many of them. If you have been following these elections on the news in English, then you may have heard our next meaning of 'turn out', which means 'to attend something' and is often used in reference to voters in an election.
Nouns that this application is commonly used with: Election Meeting Concert Play / Show Party Funeral |
To clarify this meaning, we use it primarily when we talk about attending public events, normally those that people go to as a result of being invited or being summoned. It can also be used for social events such as parties, community events and shows, so really any events where lots of people gather together.
Note that we do not use this to talk about our own attendance at events but rather people's attendance in general. For example, you would not say that you turned out for an event but rather that a lot of people turned out for an event. As a result, this application is often used by native speakers to describe the number of people who were present at an event or to highlight their enthusiasm for it.
Note the usage of the additional preposition 'for' when specifying the event.
Thousands of Liverpool FC fans turned out to watch the championship game.
Despite the rain, many people turned out for the parade.
A huge crowd turned out for the charity concert.
Not as many people turned out for the funeral as we had expected.
WHAT ABOUT TURNOUT AS A NOUN?
Furthermore, you should note that the noun 'turnout' also exists, which is usually used in combination with an adjective like high, low or poor to mean the number of people that turn out for something. This is especially common when talking about voting and elections.
There was a record turnout for the election this year, with over 75% of eligible voters participating.
The turnout for the charity event was lower than expected due to the bad weather.
MEANING 5: To produce something
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CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To produce, to manufacture, to put out |
Separable? | Yes |
The fifth meaning of 'turn out' is one that you may have come across if you study business English or work in the manufacturing sector as it means 'to produce or manufacture something'.
This application is commonly used to talk about manufacturing businesses and the amount of products that they produce, often over a specific period of time. Sometimes, it can also specify that something has been created or made very quickly or in surprisingly large quantities.
The factory turns out thousands of engines every month.
The company turns out high-quality smartphones at an impressive rate.
In May 1921, the car company turned out its five-millionth car.
Aside from big business, this meaning of 'turn out' is also applied to smaller businesses and more creative works like novels, art and pottery, which are also produced through effort or process.
This bakery turns out dozens of loaves of bread every morning.
Sarah turns out beautiful pottery from her home workshop.
My favourite author turns out a new novel almost every year.
MEANING 6: To evict
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CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To evict, to turf out, to kick out, to eject, to expel |
Separable? | Yes |
Our next meaning of 'turn out' is another separable one and is used in reference to people and means to 'to evict someone'.
To explain, if you 'turn someone out', you eject them from where they are living and essentially make them homeless. As you can imagine, this one is used particularly in reference to people who rent their accommodation from a landlord or property owner, who decides that they no longer want the tenant to live in their house and seeks to remove them.
Often, when this meaning is used, there is an implied meaning of harsh or unfair treatment of the people who have been 'turned out'. Hopefully, this application is not one that you will ever need to use in reference to your own lives, but it may be something that you come across from time to time, so it always worth knowing.
Andrew threatened to turn out the tenants if they didn’t pay the rent.
The family was turned out of their home after they failed to make the mortgage payments.
The villagers were turned out of their cottages to make way for the new development.
Roger and Helen were cruelly turned out onto the streets with nowhere to go.
MEANING 7: To empty
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CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To empty, to empty out, to unload, to vacate, to clear |
Separable? | Yes |
In the previous section, I explained how 'turn out' can be used to describe evicting tenants from the place where they live. This removal of people from their accommodation is, in its purest sense, a form of emptying and this links us smoothly to our next meaning, which is simply 'to empty something'.
This application is used specifically in reference to containers and things that hold our belongings, with the two most common of these being pockets and drawers.
If you turn out your pockets, you take out everything that is inside them, much like in the picture above. Likewise, if you turn out your drawers, you empty them, typically because you want to find something or you want to tidy them and sort them out.
At the policeman's request, Alex turned out his pockets to prove that he hadn’t taken anything.
The kids turned out their toy box in search of their favourite game.
Lisa turned out her handbag to look for her missing car keys.
MEANING 8: To appear (passive)
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CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To be well dressed, to be badly dressed |
Separable? | No |
We have now come to our eighth and final meaning of 'turn out', which is 'to appear' and is typically used in reference to people, their clothes and their physical appearance.
Unlike the previous meanings of 'turn out' that I have covered in the post, this one is primarily used in the passive voice and therefore tends to function more as an adjective and reads 'to be turned out'. Moreover, this is normally accompanied by the adverbs 'well' or 'badly' to specify if the person looks good or bad, giving us the construction 'to be well / badly turned out'.
More often than not, this is used in the positive sense with 'well', to say that someone is dressed well, in a sophisticated and stylish manner.
Everyone at the party last night was extremely well turned out.
There were plenty of well turned out ladies and gentlemen at the opening day of the races yesterday.
Please do not let any badly turned out people into the party.
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We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'turn out'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
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THE END
The meeting turned out well and they have decided to buy the patent.