AAAmerican Accent US

turn down

Separable

The object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: turn DOWN. Saying “TURN down” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

No pause between the words. /n/ runs straight into /d/ — “turn down” is one rhythmic unit with a single stressed beat on the particle.

2 meanings

  1. 1

    To reject an offer or request.

    • “She turned down the job and stayed where she was.”
    • “They turned our application down twice.”

    Similar: reject, decline

  2. 2

    To reduce the volume, heat or intensity.

    • “Turn the music down a bit.”

    Similar: lower, reduce

Don’t confuse it with

turn upTo arrive, often unexpectedly or late.

For volume, turn UP and turn DOWN are opposites. For arriving, turn UP has no opposite in this family.

The particle logic

down

Something decreases, collapses, settles, or gets recorded.

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More TURN phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

turn off

To switch a device or supply off.

turn on

To switch a device or supply on.

turn into

To become something different.

turn up

To arrive, often unexpectedly or late.

turn out

To prove to be the case in the end.

turn over

To flip something so the other side is up.

turn around

To face or move in the opposite direction.

turn in

To submit work to someone in authority.

turn away

To refuse entry or help to someone.

turn down — meaning, examples & how to say it