Meanings
present singular third person turns the tide · participle present turning the tide · participle past turned the tide · past turned the tide
- idiomaticTo undergo a change or reversal of a general trend.
Images captured by the photojournalist Philip Jones Griffiths in Vietnam helped turn the tide of public opinion against the war.
2008 March 21, Owen Bowcott, “The man who captured the human cost of conflict”, in The Guardian1 more example
The general who turned the tide at Alamein was not, prior to his arrival in the Middle East, one of the very "top brass"; but he was a soldier, not a detergent manufacturer.
1962 February, “No Talent on the Railways?”, in Modern Railways, page 74
Synonyms & antonyms
verbcause a complete reversal of the circumstances
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Dutch het tij keren
- het tij kerento make a change
Finnish kääntää, keikauttaa
- kääntääto make a change
- keikauttaato make a change
German das Blatt wenden
- das Blatt wendento make a change
Icelandic valda straumhvörfum, snúa í hag
- valda straumhvörfumto make a change
- snúa í hagto make a change
Latvian mainīt notikumu gaitu
- mainīt notikumu gaituto make a change
Russian поворачивать ход, переломить ход
- поворачивать ход (povoračivatʹ xod)to make a change
- переломить ход (perelomitʹ xod)to make a change
Cite this entry
turn the tide. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20the%20tide
“turn the tide.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20the%20tide. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “turn the tide,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20the%20tide.
Source: turn the tide on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.