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Meaning of turn up in English:

turn up

See synonyms for turn up

Translate turn up into Spanish

phrasal verb

  • 1Be found, especially by chance, after being lost.

    ‘all the missing documents had turned up’
    • ‘A large number of dodgy documents have turned up over the last month.’
    • ‘As soon as it appeared on some bonus CD, it started turning up in ‘file sharing’ sites.’
    • ‘And Plato does not appear to be a nickname; it turns up frequently in the period.’
    • ‘Maybe something turns up in tests, or they don't want to go through with it, or they get a new job while the investigations are being carried out.’
    • ‘For sheer amusement, I plug names into Google and then see what turns up.’
    • ‘And so how does it respond when a shell of sarin actually turns up?’
    • ‘This piece of local history has never been available on video / DVD but occasionally turns up on TV.’
    • ‘Just occasionally something from the past turns up unexpectedly.’
    • ‘One stray shell turns up, a year after destruction of the regime. Where did it come from?’
    be found, be discovered, be located, come to light
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    1. 1.1turn something up, turn up somethingReveal or discover something.
      • ‘New Yorkers confidently expect the inquiry to turn up nothing’
      discover, uncover, unearth, bring to light, find, hit on, dig up, ferret out, root out, expose
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  • 2Put in an appearance; arrive.

    ‘half the guests failed to turn up’
    • ‘It took a while for the food to arrive but we had turned up early and didn't mind sitting in the sunshine.’
    • ‘You know how it is, wait for ages for something to arrive and several turn up at once.’
    • ‘She failed to turn up and the judge issued the present warrant.’
    • ‘The best present was son Markus turning up from London for the event as a surprise guest.’
    • ‘He is a ubiquitous presence, turning up when you least expect it.’
    • ‘It's a clever comedic drama involving a birthday party, a video camera and an expected guest who never turns up.’
    • ‘There would also be no pretence from him if a guest either failed to turn up or behaved inappropriately.’
    • ‘Four taxi cabs turned up and another four would have arrived if Mr Banks had not phoned the cab company.’
    • ‘She even stunned guests at the Scottish Film Awards in Glasgow by turning up on his arm as his guest.’
    • ‘That's as bad as turning up at someone's birthday party without a present.’
    come, go, be present, attend, put in an appearance, appear, turn up, arrive
    arrive, put in an appearance, make an appearance, appear, be present, present oneself, turn out
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  • 3turn something up, turn up somethingIncrease the volume or strength of sound, heat, etc. by turning a knob or switch on a device.

    ‘she turned the sound up’
    • ‘I reached over quickly and turned on my stereo, turning the volume knob up, trying to cover up the sound of the clock.’
    • ‘They'd turned the sound system up, to compensate for the decorating noise I imagine.’
    • ‘One of the best things about helping out at a theatre is getting to turn the sound up to eleven.’
    • ‘While I could turn the volume up to 100% and still tolerate the sound, it was not something that I did often.’
    • ‘At the sight of a familiar photograph of the Interdimensional Gateway in Moscow, he hurriedly turned the sound up.’
    • ‘‘One problem most variable handgun scopes have is as you turn the magnification up, your eye relief shortens,’ Lalik said.’
    • ‘Stokes turns the lights up, and looks Daphne over.’
    • ‘Every now and then he turns the amp up all the way and tries to imitate moves by his favorite artists.’
    • ‘Nick motions for Anna to back away and he turns the television up.’
    • ‘Reaching the water spigot, he unscrews the sprinkler head then turns the water pressure up full blast.’
    increase, raise, amplify, make louder, intensify
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  • 4turn something up, turn up somethingShorten a garment by raising the hem.

    ‘the tailor turned up my trousers’
    • ‘Turn it up and stitch it.’
    • ‘On a sectioned shade, clip the corners at the shade lower edge so they form a miter when the hem is turned up.’
    • ‘Sew all vertical seams, then turn the lining up into the skirt and catch it in the waistband.’
    take up, raise
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