Source : WordNet®

turn back
     v 1: retrace one's course; "The hikers got into a storm and had
          to turn back" [syn: {backtrack}, {double back}]
     2: go back to a previous state; "We reverted to the old rules"
        [syn: {revert}, {return}, {retrovert}, {regress}]
     3: force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric
        meanings; "Drive away potential burglars"; "drive away bad
        thoughts"; "dispel doubts"; "The supermarket had to turn
        back many disappointed customers" [syn: {chase away}, {drive
        out}, {drive away}, {dispel}, {drive off}, {run off}]
     4: hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion
        or influence of; "Arrest the downward trend"; "Check the
        growth of communism in Sout East Asia"; "Contain the rebel
        movement"; "Turn back the tide of communism" [syn: {check},
         {arrest}, {stop}, {contain}, {hold back}]