phrasal verb / idiom · neutral
turn over a new leaf
UK/tɜːn ˈəʊvə(r) ə ˈnjuː liːf/US/tɜrn ˈoʊvər ə ˈnuː liːf/tur·n O·ver a NEW·leaf
to make a fresh start and behave better than before
Examples
“After the scandal he promised to turn over a new leaf and focus on community service.”
“Many people decide to turn over a new leaf at the start of the year.”
“She turned over a new leaf once she left her old job.”
Band 8 sentence
“Following his release from prison, he genuinely turned over a new leaf and devoted himself to mentoring young people.”
Collocations
- turn over a new leaf + after (an event)
- turn over a new leaf + promise to
Word family
Common mistakes
turn new leaf→turn over a new leaf
Say it for a higher band
5change→6start again→7+turn over a new leaf
Synonyms
start afresh
reform
Easily confused
turn over a new leaf
“After years of bad habits, he decided to turn over a new leaf.”
Related words
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