phrasal verb · neutral
turn on
UK/tɜːn ɒn/US/tɜrn ɑn/TURN·ON
speakingtask2
to start a device working; to cause someone to feel interest or excitement
Examples
“Can you turn on the heater?”
“That film really turned me on to classical music.”
“She turned on the lamp and continued reading.”
Band 8 sentence
“When the lab needed extra power, the technician turned on the backup generator immediately.”
Collocations
- turn on the light
- turn on a device
- turn someone on
Word family
turn on phrasal verbturns on phrasal verb (3rd sg)turning on gerund/participleturned on past participle
Common mistakes
I turned on my brother for advice.→I turned to my brother for advice.
She turned on at 11 pm.→She turned in at 11 pm.
Say it for a higher band
5start→6switch on→7+turn on
Synonyms
switch on
activate
Easily confused
turn to
“When things got tough she turned to her parents for support.”
switch on
“Please switch on the projector before the presentation.”
Related words
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In turn …
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