tur´ret|less

tur|ret «TUR iht», noun.

1. a small tower, often on the corner of a building.

2. a rounded addition to an angle of a building, sometimes beginning at some height above the ground, and frequently containing a spiral staircase.

3. a low, armored structure which revolves and within which guns are mounted. The big guns of battleships are mounted in turrets. The heavy gun of a tank is mounted in a turret which, now usually, makes up the entire upper portion of the tank.

4. a gunner's station in a military aircraft, usually enclosed by a domelike structure of strong, transparent plastic projecting from the fuselage. A turret contains a single heavy machine gun, or set of machine guns.

5. an attachment especially on a lathe or drill to hold cutting tools.

6. a tall tower on wheels, formerly used to scale the walls of castles and forts.

╂[< Old French touret (diminutive) < tour tower < Latin turris < Greek týrsis]

–tur´ret|less, adjective.