return
/rɪˈtəːn
/verb
1 [no object] Come or go back to a place or person: he returned to America in the late autumn...
- When he returned to the living area, his three crewmates had already returned.
- The band returned to Seattle because Geffen asked them to, so of course I happily returned with them.
- Every Saturday she returned to the same bench with his lunch, waiting for him to return.
Synonyms
go back, come back, get back, arrive back, arrive home, come home, come again
1.1 (return to) Go back to (a particular situation): I’ll be glad when things return to normal...
- After Alexis' illness passed our lives returned to normal and continued in the same way.
- So Aileen returns to her old trade, which spirals into violence and tragedy.
- He returns to flying and a glorious career as a fighter pilot.
1.2 (return to) Divert one’s attention back to: he returned to his newspaper...
- It unnerved me momentarily, but when I became aware of her attention returning to her work I cast my gaze back towards her.
- I turned to face him again, my attention returning to him in an instant at the challenge.
- His attention quickly returned to the mission as the communications officer called to him.
1.3(Especially of a feeling) reoccur after a period of absence: her appetite had returned...
- The familiar feelings of longing returned, and his heart ached for her.
- I was almost happy as the familiar hot feeling of anger returned in me like a long lost companion.
- The feeling returned, of perseverance to love him forevermore.
Synonyms
happen again, recur, reoccur, occur again, be repeated, repeat (itself), come round (again);
reappear, appear again, flare up
rare recrudesce
1.4 Golf Play the last nine holes in a round of eighteen holes: McAllister went out in 43 and returned in 32...
- Woods went out in 33, two under par, and returned in 32 to start his quest for a third major in electrifying fashion.
2 [with object] Give, put, or send (something) back to a place or person: complete the application form and return it to this address...
- Like every date on the tour, when we caught consecutive shows in Memphis and Atlanta, they were sold out, despite some fans having returned their tickets in protest.
- He returns the computer to the store, and exchanges it for another one.
- Patrice returns the tissue to Mary - their tears now blended into the same cloth.
Synonyms
give back, send back, hand back, take back, carry back;
pay back, repay, remit
restore, put back, replace, reinstate, reinstall
2.1Feel, say, or do (the same feeling, action, etc.) in response: she returned his kiss...
- You know how is it like to love someone and not have your feelings returned but you still love that person no matter what.
- McDonald's didn't return repeated phone calls for this article.
- He brushed a kiss over Piper's lips which wasn't returned, but he didn't notice.
Synonyms
reciprocate, requite, feel/give in return, repay, send/give in response, give back;
match, equal;
wish someone the same
answer, reply, respond, say in response;
acknowledge, counter, rejoin, riposte, retort, retaliate, hurl back, fling back, snap back;
round on someone;
North American come back
2.2(In tennis and other sports) hit or send (the ball) back to an opponent: the aim is to make the other side unable to return the ball...
- Batters have three separate ways to return the ball into play.
- If you missed returning the ball, you were disqualified.
- The left analogue stick moves your player from left to right and beyond the table - heated rallies often saw us returning the ball from half way across the room.
Synonyms
hit back, send back;
throw back
2.3 American Football Intercept (a pass, kick, or fumble by the opposing team) and run upfield with the ball: they had six passes intercepted—five were returned for touchdowns...
- He returned kicks and caught passes and ran the ball - he did everything in that game.
- He was intercepted by former teammate Ty Law, who returned the pass for a touchdown to even the score 7 - 7 in the first quarter.
2.4(Of a judge or jury) state or present (a decision or verdict) in response to a formal request: the jury returned the unanimous guilty verdict...
- The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter and Dunphy was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment.
- A US judge has dismissed a spamming conviction after concluding that there was no ‘rational basis’ for the jury to return a guilty verdict.
- The jury returned a so-called ‘special verdict’ of guilty but insane.
Synonyms
deliver, bring in, hand down, render, submit, announce, pronounce, proclaim
2.5 Bridge Lead (a card, especially one of a suit led earlier by one’s partner) after taking a trick: he returned a Diamond won by his partner who now played the 10 of Spades...
- In fact if you are first or second and your partner is fifth, you might well choose to return a good card to help your partner.
- One way of cooperating with declarer is by returning the suits which she leads.
3 [with object] Yield or make (a profit): the company returned a profit of £4.3 million...
- Delaney said the FAI would break even this year and return a profit in 2005.
- In other words, 80 cents in Pepsi profit is returned for every $1 spent on Pepsi advertising.
- Analysts say they never expected the company, which is faring much better than most dotcoms, to return a profit until 2003.
Synonyms
yield, bring in, earn, make, realize, secure, net, gross, clear, pay out, fetch, pocket
4 [with object] (Of an electorate) elect (a person or party) to office: the city of Glasgow returned eleven Labour MPs...
- At the first election for a Legislative Assembly in 1856 he was returned for the electorate of Murrumbidgee.
- In 1943 the Dublin Labour Party nominated Larkin as a Dáil candidate and he was returned in the election of that year.
- Clark opened his purse again for the fall elections, determined to elect a legislative majority that would return him to the Senate.
Synonyms
elect, vote in, put in power, choose, opt for, select, pick, adopt
5 Architecture Continue (a wall) in a changed direction, especially at right angles.
noun
1An act of coming or going back to a place or activity: he celebrated his safe return from the war [as modifier]: a return flight...
- All I ask is that you pray for me and my safe return.
- I apologize for being late - a cancelled flight on my return from Chicago in mid-week disrupted my schedule a bit.
- That night, over a hundred people showed up to pray for the safe return of the captives.
Synonyms
homecoming, travel back
1.1 [in singular] An act of going back to an earlier state or situation: the designer advocated a return to elegance...
- Steve Chapman writes today about terrorism, fear, and the return to normalcy.
- In particular, the Duke's absence and consequent abuse of power by one of his deputies serves to justify the return of full centralized authority in the last Act.
- Coming at a time when students here are demonstrating for the return of government grant funding the play leaps into sharp contemporary focus.
Synonyms
recurrence, reoccurrence, repeat, rerun, repetition;
reappearance, flare-up;
revival, rebirth, renaissance, resurrection, reawakening, re-emergence, resurgence
rare recrudescence, renascence
1.2 [mass noun] The action of returning something: the tape is ready to despatch to you on return of the documents...
- Lost lovers and lost children rarely figure in his accounts - but lost books are mourned, and their return marked with rejoicing.
- All Inland Revenue correspondence has a return address on the back of the envelope.
- Parents pay £3 to join the service and then a further £1 to hire a toy for two weeks, 50p of which will be refunded on return of the item.
Synonyms
giving back, handing back, replacement, restoration, reinstatement, reinstallation, restitution
rare reinstalment
1.3(In tennis and other sports) a stroke played in response to a serve or other stroke by one’s opponent.He nets a backhand return on the first set point but forces an error with the second, and the crowd goes bananas!...
- The technology can resolve disputes for viewers over line calls, compare first and second serves and identify areas where returns of serve are made.
- Her opponent from Eastridge nailed a cross-court winner on the return.
1.4A thing which has been given or sent back, especially an unwanted ticket for a sporting event or play: it might be worth checking with the box office for returns...
- With the 2,750-seat City Center selling out every performance (with a long nightly line outside the box office hopefully waiting for returns) it must be judged a smashing success.
- The 300 tickets available for the event sold out weeks ago and there is a long waiting list of people hoping for returns.
- 37-year-old Hughes had audiences queuing around the block for returns when he staged his first one-man show, Map, at the Traverse in 2002.
Synonyms
returned item, unsold item, unwanted item/ticket, reject, exchange
1.5 (also return ticket) British A ticket which allows someone to travel to a place and back again: a return ticket to the airport...
- When he arrived at Heathrow on 4 March he had a return ticket and told the immigration officer that he was coming to this country as a tourist for two and a half weeks.
- To get to my conference on time, I must fly back to New York and use my original return ticket.
- Club prices start at stg £3,068 for a return ticket.
Synonyms
return ticket/fare;
North American round trip ticket/fare
1.6An electrical conductor bringing a current back to its source.
1.7 (also return match or game) A second contest between the same opponents: he scored his first Test try in the return at Avignon...
- He became one of the few trusted confidantes of Bobby Fischer, who in turn made Torre his official second for his 1992 return match with Boris Spassky.
- Undefeated Mayo continued to advance its bid for a place in the knockout stages of the All-Ireland Over-40s football championship by defeating Cavan in the return game at Tarmonbarry on Thursday evening.
- Despite a spirited effort from HMS Tireless the submariners lost the inaugural match but they are already looking forward to a return match and the chance to level the score.
2 (also returns) A profit from an investment: product areas are being developed to produce maximum returns...
- Quick returns on investment and high dividends have to be achieved to keep the confidence of shareholders.
- Diversification will be critical for investors looking for steady returns in a low interest rate environment.
- The emphasis is on secure long-term investment and the guaranteed returns are currently as low as four per cent per annum.
Synonyms
yield, profit, returns, gain, income, revenue, interest, dividend, percentage
British informal bunce
2.1 [mass noun] A good rate of return.
3An official report or statement submitted in response to a formal demand: census returns...
- Examining surviving Victorian housing from outside and from within can be very revealing particularly if these can be matched to information from Census returns.
- Secondly, we built a database of information transcribed from the census returns.
- However, SER staff registers suggest that the staff at Ashford works in 1881 was 1,366, far beyond the 496 of the census return.
Synonyms
statement, report, submission, account, paper, record, file, dossier, write-up, data, information, log, journal, diary, register, summary;
document, form
3.1A returning officer’s announcement of an election result: falsification of the election return...
- On the other hand, the regional gulf in Britain revealed by the election returns was very plain.
- Minority party representation is guaranteed in both chambers regardless of election returns.
- All had appeared in readiness for Harris to deliver the coup de grace to Gore on Saturday, once the absentee ballot returns were completed.
3.2 Law An endorsement or report by a court officer or sheriff on a writ.
4 [mass noun] Election to office: I campaigned for the return of forty-four MPs...
- New ground has also been broken with the return of a black Conservative MP.
- This year the Green Party is campaigning hard for the return of political parties to this Parliament that can work together in a cooperative and consultative way, for the common good.
- The general election of June 1951 saw the return of significant numbers of right-wing deputies for the first time since 1945.
5 (also carriage return) A mechanism or key on a typewriter that returns the carriage to a fixed position at the start of a new line.
5.1 (also return key) A key pressed on a computer keyboard to simulate a carriage return in a word-processing program, or to indicate the end of a command or data string.Type another question in the unasked column and press the return key....
- Don't type ‘y’ or ‘yes’; just accept the defaults by hitting the return key.
- However, this morning the number key containing the dollar sign stopped working, followed by the delete key and the return key.
6 Architecture A part receding from the line of the front, for example the side of a house or of a window opening.The master bedroom is off the first floor return which has a window that overlooks the River Suir....
- A mahogany staircase leads to the upper floor and on the return there is a large arched window with antique coloured glass panels.
- The garden level can be accessed independently from the front garden as well as from the hall floor return.
Phrases
by return (of post)
in return
many happy returns (of the day)
return thanks
Derivatives
returnable
/ adjective ...- In Germany, cartons have gained a reputation for being environmentally unfriendly, and there has been a movement to encourage the use of returnable bottles.
- Some magazines, however, are not returnable and these are generally only stocked by newsagents when specifically ordered by customers.
- Those that wished to receive the box were asked for a £10 returnable down payment and told the box would arrive before Christmas.
returner
/ noun ...- ‘At the moment, our ability to attract returners is reducing and our reliance on supply teachers, some of whom leave a lot to be desired, is increasing,’ she said.
- The Australian Open champion has won seven Grand Slam titles and is the best returner in the game.
- As emigration began to rise inexorably in the 1980s, the focus of attention shifted away from returners and toward the burgeoning diasporic communities in the United States and elsewhere.
returnless
Origin
Middle English: the verb from Old French returner, from Latin re- 'back' + tornare 'to turn'; the noun via Anglo-Norman French.