U-turn

See also: u-turn

English

A car making a U-turn.

Alternative forms

• u-turn

Etymology

U + turn, from the similarity to the shape of the letter U.

Pronunciation

• Audio (CA)

  (file)

Noun

U-turn (plural U-turns)

1. (literally) A turn in a vehicle carried out by driving in a semicircle in order to travel in the opposite direction.
2. (figuratively) A reversal of policy; an about-face, a backflip.

   The government have done a U-turn and are now supporting greater European integration instead of opposing it.

   • 2023 October 10, Senay Boztas, “Frans Timmermans urges European left to unite against right’s climate backlash”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Rishi Sunak, the UK prime minister, announced a major U-turn on the government’s climate commitments last month, pushing back the deadline for selling new petrol and diesel cars and the phasing out of gas boilers.

Usage notes

• Often used in the phrases do a U-turn or make a U-turn.

Synonyms

• uey (colloquial)

Translations

semi-circular turn

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 轉頭／转头 (zh) (zhuàntóu)

• Czech: obrat o 180 stupňů m
• Danish: U-vending c
• Dutch: U-bocht (nl) m or f
• Faroese: U-sving
• Finnish: U-käännös (fi)
• French: demi-tour (fr) m, volte-face (fr) f, retournement (fr) m
• Georgian: 180-იანი ბრუნი (180-iani bruni)
• German: Fahrtrichtungswechsel m (officialese), Kehrtwende (de) f, Wenden (de) n, Kehrtwendung (de) f
• Icelandic: U-beygja f
• Japanese: Ｕターン (ja) (yūtān)
• Korean: 유턴 (yuteon)
• Macedonian: полукру́жно сврту́вање n (polukrúžno svrtúvanje)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: U-sving m, u-sving m

  Nynorsk: U-sving m, u-sving m

• Portuguese: retorno (pt) m
• Russian: разворо́т (ru) m (razvorót), поворо́т круго́м m (povorót krugóm)
• Spanish: cambio de sentido m, vuelta en u f, viraje en u m
• Swedish: U-sväng c
• Tagalog: likong pabalik, U-liko
• Turkish: U-dönüşü

reversal of policy

• Czech: obrat o 180 stupňů m
• Danish: U-vending c
• French: demi-tour (fr) m, marche arrière (fr) f, revirement (fr) m, volte-face (fr) f
• German: Kehrtwende (de) f, Hundertachtziggradwende f, 180-Grad-Wende f, Hundertachtziggraddrehung f, 180-Grad-Drehung f, Kehrtwendung (de) f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: U-sving m, u-sving m

  Nynorsk: U-sving m, u-sving m

• Portuguese: reviravolta f
• Swedish: U-sväng (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (Mainland) 掉頭／掉头 (zh) (diàotóu), (Taiwan) 迴轉／回转 (zh) (huízhuǎn) 迴車／回车

• Dutch: rechtsomkeert (nl), draai van 180 graden
• Finnish: U-käännös (fi) (1, 2), takinkääntäminen (2)

Verb

U-turn (third-person singular simple present U-turns, present participle U-turning, simple past and past participle U-turned)

1. To turn a vehicle in a semicircle so as to face the opposite direction.
2. (intransitive) To shift from one opinion or decision to its opposite.
   • 2022 October 5, Rowena Mason, “Liz Truss promises ‘growth, growth and growth’ in protest-hit speech”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     She made the case for cutting taxes as “the right thing to do morally and economically”, despite having just U-turned over her decision to abolish the 45p top rate of income tax.

Translations

to turn a vehicle in a semicircle

• Vietnamese: đi vòng ngược, chạy vòng ngược, quay ngược

to shift from one opinion to its opposite

See also

• bang a uey (New England)
• flip a bitch
• handbrake turn
• hang a Louie
• hang a Ralph
• hook a uey, hook a U-ie
• hang a uey
• moonshiner's turn
• three-point turn / K-turn
• Y-turn