about-turn
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From the imperative phrase used in the military.
Noun[edit]
about-turn (plural about-turns)
- A turn of 180 degrees, typically in a military formation.
Verb[edit]
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.
- (intransitive) Total reversal of opinion or attitude.
- 2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, 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.
- 2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, Telegraph: