turn the tables

1. 1.

   cause a complete reversal of the circumstances

   “The tables are turned now that the Republicans are in power!”

   Synonymsturn the tide

   Broaderchange by reversal

Questions about turn the tables

What does turn the tables mean?

turn the tables means "cause a complete reversal of the circumstances".

What is another word for turn the tables?

Close synonyms include turn the tide. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is turn the tables a common word?

turn the tables is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.