A turner is a tool used for flipping food while cooking, especially things like pancakes, eggs, burgers, or grilled cheese sandwiches. It has a flat, wide end (sometimes slotted to let grease drain through) attached to a long handle that keeps your hand safely away from the hot pan or griddle. When you slide a turner under a sizzling pancake and flip it over to cook the other side, you're using one of the kitchen's most essential tools.

The word can also refer to a person who turns things. A wood turner is a craftsperson who shapes wood on a spinning lathe, creating everything from table legs to bowls. In gymnastics, a good turner executes clean, controlled rotations in the air. In older times, a page turner was someone whose job was literally to turn the pages of sheet music for a pianist during a performance.

You might also hear the phrase “that game was a real page-turner,” borrowed from the idea of a book so exciting you can't stop turning pages. It means something kept people on the edge of their seats, watching or reading eagerly to see what would happen next.