not know which way to turn
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To feel completely confused or uncertain about what to do
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
cảm thấy hoàn toàn bối rối hoặc không chắc chắn về việc phải làm
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: be unaware of direction
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
After losing her job, she didn't know which way to turn
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “not know which way to turn” mean?
To feel completely confused or uncertain about what to do Literally: be unaware of direction
Is “not know which way to turn” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.