An upturn is an improvement or upward change, especially after a period of decline or difficulty. When a business experiences an upturn in sales, customers start buying more after months of slow business. When a sick patient shows an upturn in their condition, they're finally getting better instead of worse.

The word often describes economic or business situations: “The local economy showed signs of an upturn after the new factory opened.” But you can use it for anything that turns upward after going down. A baseball team might experience an upturn in their performance, winning games after a losing streak. A student's grades might take an upturn after they start studying with a tutor.

An upturn feels like reaching the bottom of a valley and starting to climb back up the other side. It's the moment when things stop getting worse and begin improving. The word suggests hope and recovery: whatever was declining has reversed direction and is now heading in a positive direction. An upturn might be small at first, like the first few degrees of a plane's nose lifting off the ground, but it signals that the worst is over and better times are coming.