turn down

turn down (third-person singular simple present turns down, present participle turning down, simple past and past participle turned down)

1. (idiomatic) To refuse, decline, or deny.

   He turned down all our offers of help.

2. (idiomatic) To reduce the power, etc. of something by means of a control, such as the volume, heat, or light.

   Turn down the television so I can hear myself think.

   When it starts to boil, turn down the heat to a simmer.

3. (idiomatic) To reposition by turning, flipping, etc. in a downward direction.

   Turn down the blankets to let them air out.

In all senses the object may appear before or after the particle. If the object is a pronoun, then it must be before the particle.

• (refuse): accept
• (reduce power): turn up

• turn over

• down-turn, downturn