From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe turn of the century/yearthe turn of the century/yearBEGINNINGthe beginning of a new century or year the short period from the turn of the century until World War One → turn
Examples from the Corpus
the turn of the century/year• This 1935 measure derived from the widows' pensions, which states had enacted at the turn of the century.• Nevertheless they were considerably more evangelical at the turn of the century than they are now.• Their catalogues contain fewer items, but the range of publications is wider than at the turn of the century.• She was born before the turn of the century, so it is likely that her parents had been born into slavery.• People have been peddling phony weight-loss elixirs since before the turn of the century.• By the turn of the century, a unique international generation of women had arrived at senior status.• From 1859 until the turn of the century the system worked wonderfully.• For many of us the turn of the century was only a few months ago. 