Turn wives off student (6)
I believe the answer is:
swivel
'turn' is the definition.
(swiveling is a kind of turning)
'wives off student' is the wordplay.
'off' indicates anagramming the letters.
'student' becomes 'L' (learner, as in L-plates for learner drivers).
'wives' with letters rearranged gives 'swive'.
'swive'+'l'='SWIVEL'
(Other definitions for swivel that I've seen before include "swinging" , "Spin on the spot" , "Turn about a point" , "something pivotal" , "Turn on the spot" .)