Rotate vs. Turn — What's the Difference?

To move in a circle around an axis or center.

To change direction.

In mechanics, to turn or spin a part around a fixed point.

To reverse the position or orientation of.

To cause something to revolve or spin.

To bend or change course.

To turn around a central point to face in another direction.

To cause to move around an axis or pivot.

In computing, to move data or graphics around a pivot point.

To change the state or condition of something.

To turn around on an axis or center.

To cause to move around an axis or center; cause to rotate or revolve

To proceed in sequence; take turns or alternate

To cause to move around in order to achieve a result, such as opening, closing, tightening, or loosening

To cause to turn on an axis or center.

To alter or control the functioning of (a mechanical device, for example) by the use of a rotating or similar movement

To plant or grow (crops) in a fixed order of succession.

To perform or accomplish by rotating or revolving

To cause to alternate or proceed in sequence

To change the position of so that the underside becomes the upper side

Having radiating parts; wheel-shaped.

To spade or plow (soil) to bring the undersoil to the surface.

(intransitive) To spin, turn, or revolve.

To reverse and resew the material of (a collar, for example).

(intransitive) To advance through a sequence; to take turns.

To revolve in the mind; meditate on; ponder

To lift the nose during takeoff, just prior to liftoff.

To give a rounded form to (wood, for example) by rotating against a cutting tool.

(transitive) To spin, turn, or revolve something.

To give a rounded shape to (clay, for example) by rotating and shaping with the hands or tools.

(transitive) To advance something through a sequence; to allocate or deploy in turns.

To give a rounded form to

(transitive) To replace older materials or to place older materials in front of newer ones so that older ones get used first.

To give distinctive, artistic, or graceful form to

(transitive) To grow or plant (crops) in a certain order.

To change the position of by traversing an arc of a circle; pivot

Having the parts spreading out like a wheel; wheel-shaped.

To present in a specified direction by rotating or pivoting

Having the parts spreading out like a wheel; wheel-shaped; as, a rotate spicule or scale; a rotate corolla, i.e., a monopetalous corolla with a flattish border, and no tube or a very short one.

To cause (a scale) to move up or down so as to register weight

To turn, as a wheel, round an axis; to revolve.

To fold, bend, or twist (something).

To perform any act, function, or operation in turn, to hold office in turn; as, to rotate in office.

To change the position or disposition of by folding, bending, or twisting

To cause to turn round or revolve, as a wheel around an axle.

To make a bend or curve in

To cause to succeed in turn; esp., to cause to succeed some one, or to be succeeded by some one, in office.

To blunt or dull (the edge of a cutting instrument).

Turn on or around an axis or a center;

To injure by twisting

Exchange on a regular basis;

To upset or make nauseated

Cause to turn on an axis or center;

To change the direction or course of

Perform a job or duty on a rotating basis;

To divert or deflect

Turn outward;

To reverse the course of; cause to retreat

Plant or grow in a fixed cyclic order of succession;

To make a course around or about

To reach and pass (a specified age)

To change the purpose, intention, or content of by persuasion or influence

To change the order or disposition of; unsettle

To aim or focus

To devote or apply (oneself, for example) to something

To cause to act or go against; make antagonistic

To cause to go in a specific direction; direct

To send, drive, or let go

To pour, let fall, or otherwise release (contents) from or into a receptacle

To cause to take on a specified character, nature, identity, or appearance; change or transform. Used with to or into

To affect or change the color of

To make sour; ferment

To exchange; convert. Used with to or into

To keep in circulation; sell and restock

To make use of

To get by buying and selling

To perform successfully; complete

(Slang) To perform (an act of prostitution)

To move around an axis or center; rotate or revolve.

To have a sensation of revolving or whirling, especially as a result of dizziness or giddiness

To change position from side to side or back and forth

To progress through pages so as to arrive at a given place

To operate a lathe.

To be formed on a lathe

To direct one's way or course

To change or reverse one's way, course, or direction

To change one's actions or attitudes adversely; become hostile or antagonistic

To attack suddenly and violently with no apparent motive

To channel one's attention, interest, or thought toward or away from something

To devote or apply oneself to something, as to a field of study

To convert to a religion.

To switch one's loyalty from one side or party to another.

To have recourse to a person or thing for help, support, or information

To start to use (something) as a solution to a problem or relief of distress

To depend on something for success or failure; hinge

To change so as to be; become

To change; become transformed. Used with to or into

To change color

To become sour

To be stocked and sold

To become dull or blunt by bending back. Used of the edge of a cutting instrument.

The act of turning or the condition of being turned; rotation or revolution.

A change of direction, motion, or position

A place, as in a road or path, where a change in direction occurs; a curve

A change or deviation, as in a trend

A change or development in a particular way

A variation of a given kind or type

A point marking the end of one period of time and the beginning of the next

The midway point in a round of 18 holes of golf, at which the first set of nine holes has been completed.

A period of participation

A chance or opportunity

One of a series of such opportunities accorded people in succession or in scheduled order

An attack of illness or severe nervousness.

A momentary shock or scare

A characteristic mood, style, or habit; a natural inclination

A distinctive, graceful, or artistic expression or arrangement of words

A deed or action having a good or bad effect on another

A short walk or excursion out and back

A single wind or convolution, as of wire on a spool.

(Music) A figure or ornament, usually consisting of four or more notes in rapid succession and including the principal note, the one a degree above it, and the one a degree below it.

A brief theatrical act or stage appearance.

A transaction on the stock market involving both a sale and a purchase.

The fourth community card in Texas hold'em.

Upper Southern & South Atlantic US An amount that can be carried or transported in one load

To make a non-linear physical movement.

(intransitive) Of a body, person, etc, to move around an axis through itself.

(transitive) To change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation.

(intransitive) To change one's direction of travel.

(transitive) To shape (something) symmetrically by rotating it against a stationary cutting tool, as on a lathe.

(by extension) To give form to; to shape or mould; to adapt.

(transitive) To position (something) by folding it, or using its folds.

To navigate through a book or other printed material.

Of a bowler, to make (the ball) move sideways off the pitch when it bounces.

Of a ball, to move sideways off the pitch when it bounces.

(intransitive) To change condition or attitude.

(copulative) To become begin to be.

(intransitive) To change the color of the leaves in the autumn.

To change fundamentally; to metamorphose.

To reach a certain age.

To hinge; to depend.

To rebel; to go against something formerly tolerated.

To change personal condition.

To change one's course of action; to take a new approach.

To complete.

(transitive) To make (money); turn a profit.

Of a player, to go past an opposition player with the ball in one's control.

To undergo the process of turning on a lathe.

(obstetrics) To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.

To invert a type of the same thickness, as a temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.

(archaic) To translate.

To magically or divinely attack undead.

A change of direction or orientation.

A movement of an object about its own axis in one direction that continues until the object returns to its initial orientation.

(geometry) A unit of plane angle measurement based on this movement.

A walk to and fro.

A chance to use (something) shared in sequence with others.

A spell of work, especially the time allotted to a person in a rota or schedule.

One's chance to make a move in a game having two or more players.

A figure in music, often denoted ~, consisting of the note above the one indicated, the note itself, the note below the one indicated, and the note itself again.

The time required to complete a project.

A fit or a period of giddiness.

A change in temperament or circumstance.

(cricket) A sideways movement of the ball when it bounces (caused by rotation in flight).

(poker) The fourth communal card in Texas hold 'em.

The flop (the first three community cards) in Texas hold 'em.

A deed done to another; an act of kindness or malice.

A single loop of a coil.

(rope) A pass behind or through an object.

Character; personality; nature.

(soccer) An instance of going past an opposition player with the ball in one's control.

A short skit, act, or routine.

A type turned upside down to serve for another character that is not available.

The profit made by a stockjobber, being the difference between the buying and selling prices.

To cause to move upon a center, or as if upon a center; to give circular motion to; to cause to revolve; to cause to move round, either partially, wholly, or repeatedly; to make to change position so as to present other sides in given directions; to make to face otherwise; as, to turn a wheel or a spindle; to turn the body or the head.

To cause to present a different side uppermost or outmost; to make the upper side the lower, or the inside to be the outside of; to reverse the position of; as, to turn a box or a board; to turn a coat.

To give another direction, tendency, or inclination to; to direct otherwise; to deflect; to incline differently; - used both literally and figuratively; as, to turn the eyes to the heavens; to turn a horse from the road, or a ship from her course; to turn the attention to or from something.

To change from a given use or office; to divert, as to another purpose or end; to transfer; to use or employ; to apply; to devote.

To change the form, quality, aspect, or effect of; to alter; to metamorphose; to convert; to transform; - often with to or into before the word denoting the effect or product of the change; as, to turn a worm into a winged insect; to turn green to blue; to turn prose into verse; to turn a Whig to a Tory, or a Hindu to a Christian; to turn good to evil, and the like.

To form in a lathe; to shape or fashion (anything) by applying a cutting tool to it while revolving; as, to turn the legs of stools or tables; to turn ivory or metal.

Hence, to give form to; to shape; to mold; to put in proper condition; to adapt.

To translate; to construe; as, to turn the Iliad.

To make acid or sour; to ferment; to curdle, etc.: as, to turn cider or wine; electricity turns milk quickly.

To make a turn about or around (something); to go or pass around by turning; as, to turn a corner.

To sicken; to nauseate; as, an emetic turns one's stomach.

To move round; to have a circular motion; to revolve entirely, repeatedly, or partially; to change position, so as to face differently; to whirl or wheel round; as, a wheel turns on its axis; a spindle turns on a pivot; a man turns on his heel.

Hence, to revolve as if upon a point of support; to hinge; to depend; as, the decision turns on a single fact.

To result or terminate; to come about; to eventuate; to issue.

To be deflected; to take a different direction or tendency; to be directed otherwise; to be differently applied; to be transferred; as, to turn from the road.

To be changed, altered, or transformed; to become transmuted; also, to become by a change or changes; to grow; as, wood turns to stone; water turns to ice; one color turns to another; to turn Muslim.

To undergo the process of turning on a lathe; as, ivory turns well.

To become acid; to sour; - said of milk, ale, etc.

To become giddy; - said of the head or brain.

To invert a type of the same thickness, as temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.

To be nauseated; - said of the stomach.

To become inclined in the other direction; - said of scales.

To change from ebb to flow, or from flow to ebb; - said of the tide.

To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.

The act of turning; movement or motion about, or as if about, a center or axis; revolution; as, the turn of a wheel.

Change of direction, course, or tendency; different order, position, or aspect of affairs; alteration; vicissitude; as, the turn of the tide.

One of the successive portions of a course, or of a series of occurrences, reckoning from change to change; hence, a winding; a bend; a meander.

A circuitous walk, or a walk to and fro, ending where it began; a short walk; a stroll.

Successive course; opportunity enjoyed by alternation with another or with others, or in due order; due chance; alternate or incidental occasion; appropriate time.

Incidental or opportune deed or office; occasional act of kindness or malice; as, to do one an ill turn.

Convenience; occasion; purpose; exigence; as, this will not serve his turn.

Form; cast; shape; manner; fashion; - used in a literal or figurative sense; hence, form of expression; mode of signifying; as, the turn of thought; a man of a sprightly turn in conversation.

A change of condition; especially, a sudden or recurring symptom of illness, as a nervous shock, or fainting spell; as, a bad turn.

A fall off the ladder at the gallows; a hanging; - so called from the practice of causing the criminal to stand on a ladder which was turned over, so throwing him off, when the signal was given.

A round of a rope or cord in order to secure it, as about a pin or a cleat.

A pit sunk in some part of a drift.

A court of record, held by the sheriff twice a year in every hundred within his county.

Monthly courses; menses.

An embellishment or grace (marked thus, ), commonly consisting of the principal note, or that on which the turn is made, with the note above, and the semitone below, the note above being sounded first, the principal note next, and the semitone below last, the three being performed quickly, as a triplet preceding the marked note. The turn may be inverted so as to begin with the lower note, in which case the sign is either placed on end thus , or drawn thus .

A circular segment of a curve;

The act of changing or reversing the direction of the course;

The activity of doing something in an agreed succession;

An unforeseen development;

A movement in a new direction;

Turning away or in the opposite direction;

Turning or twisting around (in place);

A time for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else);

(sports) a period of play during which one team is on the offensive

A short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program;

A favor for someone;

Taking a short walk out and back;

Change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense;

Undergo a change or development;

Undergo a transformation or a change of position or action;

Cause to move around or rotate;

Pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become;

To send or let go;

Pass to the other side of;

Move around an axis or a center;

Cause to move around a center so as to show another side of;

Change to the contrary;

To break and turn over earth especially with a plow;

Change color;

Cause to change or turn into something different;assume new characteristics;

Let (something) fall or spill a container;

Twist suddenly so as to sprain;

Shape by rotating on a lathe or cutting device or a wheel;

Go sour or spoil;

Accomplish by rotating;

Get by buying and selling;

Cause to move along an axis or into a new direction;

Channel one's attention, interest, thought, or attention toward or away from something;

Cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form;

Alter the functioning or setting of;

Direct at someone;

Have recourse to or make an appeal or request for help or information to;

Become officially one year older;

Rotating and revolving can be similar, but revolving specifically refers to an object moving in a path around another object, like the Earth around the Sun.

Bearings, gears, and rotors are designed to facilitate smooth rotation in machinery.

The degree of a turn is typically measured in angular units like degrees or radians, describing the angle of change from the original direction.

Yes, in digital environments, objects can be rotated for viewing from different angles, such as 3D models in software.

In dance, turning refers to a dancer changing orientation or direction, often involving steps rather than spinning on an axis.

Physics principles such as torque, angular momentum, and centripetal force govern the dynamics of rotation.

In sports, turning can refer to maneuvers that change the direction of movement, such as pivoting in basketball or skiing.

Turning affects a vehicle’s alignment, handling, and tire wear, and requires careful design to ensure stability and control.

Earth's rotation influences global wind patterns and ocean currents, which play critical roles in climate dynamics.

Turning a light switch on or off involves a switch motion without any circular rotation.

In navigation, a turn refers to changing direction, typically indicated by compass points or degrees.

Animals like owls rotate their heads to enhance their field of vision due to fixed eye positions.

Tools like screwdrivers and wrenches facilitate rotation by providing the leverage needed to turn screws and bolts.

In art, techniques like pottery throwing and lathe work involve rotation to shape materials symmetrically.

Safety considerations include using turn signals, adjusting speed, and observing traffic and road conditions.