turn down
Britishverb
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to reduce (the volume or brightness) of (something)
turn the radio down
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to reject or refuse
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to fold down (a collar, sheets on a bed, etc)
adjective
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Fold or double down, as in They always turn down your bed here , or Turn down your collar . [c. 1600]
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Invert, as in She turned down her cards , or They turn down the glasses in the cupboard . [Mid-1700s]
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Reject, fail to accept, as in They turned down his proposal , or Joe was turned down at four schools before he was finally accepted . [Late 1800s]
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Diminish in volume, brightness, or speed. For example, Please turn down the radio; it's too loud , or They turned down the lights and began to dance . [Second half of 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It said the 11 NGOs whose applications were turned down amounted to about 1% of the total humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
From BBC
GEL has two other sites it plans to develop into power plants, although one additional proposed site has been initially turned down over environmental concerns, but the company is appealing.
From BBC
An application for him to be released on parole in 2014 was also turned down.
From BBC
“Not likely. Not in a million years. Duane would never turn down one of my crumpets, or two, or five. Begs the question, doesn’t it?”
From Literature
I pulled at Nothing and we turned down a road that led away from the crowds, and the king and queen, and Kessler.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
