The phrase "a precipitous turn" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a sudden and steep change in direction or circumstances, often in a metaphorical sense.
Example: "The company experienced a precipitous turn in its fortunes after the new management took over."
Alternatives: "a sharp turn" or "a sudden shift".
At one point, when the car made a precipitous turn on the cliff-hugging road, the camera did not follow it but kept flying out and over a pristine mountain lake.
These sensible souls take such pride in their refusal to stray from the straight and narrow that they are utterly thrown off balance when their luck takes a precipitous turn for the worse.
But the schools' fiscal agony took a precipitous turn last year when statehouse Republicans decided that an encouraging postrecession increase in revenues was the perfect moment for a huge tax cut, rather than for the overdue restoration of school aid to levels mandated under the State Constitution.
If housing were to take a precipitous turn, it would be devastating.
L.'s relationship with Dr. N. took a precipitous turn in the winter of 1997.
"The continuing violations and systematic failings simply heighten international anxieties over the possibility of a precipitous turn, an event of great centrifugal consequence, which could rapidly engulf the region," said Zeid. "If the international community is serious over reducing tensions in the region, more must be done collectively to ensure respect for human rights in the DPRK".
Taken together, it would represent a sharp turn from the precipitous drop-off in congressional oversight since President Barack Obama left office.
But April 2012 was an exceptionally bad month for Chinese exports and imports — indeed, dismal trade statistics for that month were the first sign that economic weakness during the preceding winter was turning into a precipitous decline.
But 2016 saw a precipitous drop in the number of executions in the state.
The shrinkage of classical music stations over the last five years, along with a precipitous drop in classical recordings, has in turn affected the careers of singers, he said.
Consider a listener turning toward a new signal of interest: a precipitous drop in SNR could suggest to listeners that they were turning in the wrong direction, causing them to initiate a reversal.
