turnback

T1U1R1N1B3A1C3K5

noun

Part of a garment that is turned back.

Scrabble 16

Meanings

nounturnback (countable and uncountable, plural turnbacks)

plural turnbacks

  1. attributivecountableuncountablePart of a garment that is turned back.
  2. countableuncountableThe turning back of a weaver around another element.

    Most basketmakers make their turnbacks in a particular section of the weaving on the sides or in the middle of the basket.

    1991, Rachel Nash Law, Cynthia Wieboldt Taylor, Appalachian White Oak Basketmaking: Handing Down the Basket, page 86
  3. countableuncountableThe act of turning back a boat containing immigrants.

    The information commissioner, Professor John McMillan, ruled that requests for watch officer logs and authorisations for turnbacks were exempt from release because they could have a “substantial adverse effect” on the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS).

    2015 July 20, Paul Farrell, “Details about asylum seeker turnbacks to remain secret, commissioner rules”, in The Guardian
  4. countableuncountableThe strap from the hames to the hip-strap, on a horse.
  5. countableuncountableA place, e.g. on a railway, where vehicles can reverse direction, i.e. turn back.

    Removal of one set of train turnbacks also makes more efficient use of infrastructure and reduces peak loads at interchange stations.

    2023 June 14, David Clough, “Tram-trains are making tracks...”, in RAIL, number 985, page 54
  6. UScountableuncountableA cadet at a military academy who fails a class and has to retake it.

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

turnback. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turnback

MLA

“turnback.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turnback. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “turnback,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turnback.

Source: turnback on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.