turret

turret — noun

1. a small tower built onto a castle, fort, or other large building, often at a cor

1.nounB1
Definition

a small tower built onto a castle, fort, or other large building, often at a corner or above the wall, where guards could stand long ago to watch the surrounding area and defend against attack.

Example

Christopher stood in the castle's highest turret and looked out at the mountains.

collocation: castle turret

The medieval turret had narrow arrow-slit windows and a steep roof of red tiles.

collocation: arrow-slit windows in a turret

Common collocations
  • castle turret
  • stone turret
  • corner turret
  • circular turret
  • turret roof
  • turret window
  • inside the turret
  • climb the turret
Synonyms
  • tower

    A tower is larger and can stand alone; a turret is smaller and attached to a larger building.

  • bartizan

    A more specific term for a small, overhanging turret on a castle wall; rarely used in everyday English.

Grammar Patterns

turret + of + building

turret + on + wall/corner

Usage Note

Smaller than a full tower, a turret usually projects outward from the main wall of a castle or building rather than standing as a separate structure. Often paired in descriptions of historic buildings with features such as battlements, arrow slits, and conical roofs.

Common Mistakes

The guard climbed the turret to ring the bell.
The guard climbed the tower to ring the bell.
Turrets are too small to house bells; a tower is the larger, main vertical structure that can hold bells or clocks.
There was a turret in the middle of the town square.
There was a tower in the middle of the town square.
A turret is part of a larger building, not a standalone structure in an open space.

2. a protective metal structure on top of a tank, warship, or military aircraft tha

2.nounB2
Definition

a protective metal structure on top of a tank, warship, or military aircraft that rotates so that the weapon inside can be aimed and fired in any direction without the whole vehicle having to turn.

Example

The commander climbed into the turret of the tank and closed the hatch door.

collocation: tank turret

Ignacio watched the battleship's turret slowly turn as the crew prepared to fire.

collocation: battleship turret

Common collocations
  • tank turret
  • gun turret
  • rotating turret
  • turret hatch
  • turret armour
  • inside the turret
  • turret crew
  • turret mounted
Synonyms
  • gun mount

    A broader term for any structure that holds a gun; a turret is a specific type that can rotate and is fully enclosed.

  • barbette

    A historical term for a fixed armoured platform on a warship, usually with a rotating gun mount; less common than turret.

Grammar Patterns

turret + of + vehicle

turret + on + tank/ship/aircraft

Usage Note

In military contexts, the term refers specifically to the rotating protective housing for the weapon, not to the vehicle's main body (called the hull in a tank) or the gun barrel itself. The crew member who operates the weapons from inside the turret is called the gunner.

Common Mistakes

The enemy bomb destroyed the tank's turret, and the driver was injured.
The enemy bomb destroyed the tank's turret, and the gunner inside was injured.
The turret houses the gunner and commander, not the driver, who sits in the hull below.
The ship's turret was hit, so the whole vessel stopped moving.
The ship's turret was hit, so the crew could no longer fire the guns.
The turret holds the weapons; damaging it affects the ship's ability to fight, not its ability to move.

Word family

  • turreted
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Turret and tower both refer to tall, vertical structures on buildings, but they differ in size and function. A turret is small, attached to a larger building (often at a corner), and was historically used for defence or decoration. A tower is larger, can be freestanding or part of a building, and often serves as the main vertical element — think of a bell tower or a watchtower. A spire is the pointed, tapering top of a tower, most commonly seen on churches. A pinnacle is a small, decorative pointed ornament placed on top of a buttress, turret, or roof, especially in Gothic architecture. For example, you would say 'the castle has turrets at its four corners' but 'the church tower has a tall spire visible from across the valley.'

turret ↗tower ↗spire ↗pinnacle ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • inside the turret
  • top of the turret
  • from the turret

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Turret comes from the Old French word touret, which is the diminutive (little) form of tour, meaning 'tower'. That French word traces back to the Latin turris, also meaning 'tower'. So a turret is literally a 'little tower'. The word entered English around the 1300s, first used for the small towers on castles and fortifications. The military meaning — a rotating armoured gun platform — appeared much later, in the 1800s, when revolving gun housings were first installed on warships.