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turn up

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turn someone or something up

 

1. Lit. to increase the volume of a device emitting the sound of someone or something. I can't hear the lecturer. Turn her up. Turn up the radio, please.

2. Fig. to discover or locate someone or something. See if you can turn up any evidence for his presence on the night of January 16. Have you been able to turn up a date for Friday night?

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turn something up

 

1. to bend or fold something up. (See also turn up.) Please turn your cuffs up. They are getting muddy. He turned up his coat collar to keep the rain off his neck.

2. to turn playing cards face up. Please turn all the cards up. Sally turned up the cards one at a time.

See also: turn, up

turn up

 

1. [for part of something] to point upward. The ends of the elf's funny little shoes turned up.

2. Fig. to happen. Something always turns up to prevent their meeting. I am sorry I was late. Something turned up at the last minute.

3. Fig. to appear; to arrive and attend. We'll send out invitations and see who turns up. Guess who turned up at my door last night?

See also: turn, up

turn up

(somewhere) Fig. [for someone or something] to appear in a place. Her name is always turning up in the gossip columns. He turned up an hour late.

See also: turn, up

turn up

to appear or come to your attention She said she'd let me know if anything new turned up. Look who just turned up - my old friend Buzz Galbraith!

See also: turn, up

turn up something

also turn something up

to find something, usually after looking A three-hour search turned up no sign of a bomb. Our first look at the records did not turn anything up.

See also: turn, up

turn up

1. Increase the volume, speed, intensity, or flow of, as in Turn up the air conditioning; it's too hot in here. [Late 1800s]

2. Find or be found, as in She turned up the missing papers, or Your coat turned up in the closet.

3. Appear, arrive, as in His name turns up in the newspaper now and then, or Some old friends turned up unexpectedly. [c. 1700] This usage gave rise to turn up like a bad penny, meaning that something unwanted constantly reappears, as in Ken turns up like a bad penny whenever there's free liquor. Bad here alludes to a counterfeit coin.

4. Fold or be capable of being folded, as in I'll just turn up the hem, or He preferred cuffs that turn up. [c. 1600]

5. Happen unexpectedly, as in Something turned up so I couldn't go to the play. Also see the following idioms beginning with turn up.

See also: turn, up

turn up

v.

1. To rotate something so as to expose the underside: We turned up the soil in the garden to prepare it for planting. I turned the log up and found hundreds of bugs underneath.

2. To bring something that is underneath to the surface: The plow had turned up a number of rocks, and we collected them for use in the wall. The children turned the shells up while they were digging in the sand.

3. To come to the surface: A large rock turned up during the excavation.

4. To increase the speed, volume, intensity, or flow of something by or as if by turning a dial: I think we should turn up the temperature in the oven. Turn the radio up so we can hear it outside.

5. To be found, especially without searching: Don't worry about losing your keys—I'm sure they'll turn up somewhere.

6. To make an appearance; arrive: Many old friends turned up at the reunion.

7. To fold something upward or so that the inside is exposed: I turned the cuffs of my pants up and walked through the puddle. We turned up our collars and headed out into the rain.

8. To happen unexpectedly: Something turned up at the office, and we had to stay later than usual.

9. To be evident or easily encountered: That sculptor's name turns up in the art community.

See also: turn, up