Etimology
From Middle English returnen, retornen, from Anglo-Norman returner, from Old French retourner, retorner, from Medieval Latin retornare (“to turn back”), from re- + tornare (“to turn”). Compare beturn.
verb
return (third-person singular simple present returns, present participle returning, simple past and past participle returned)
(intransitive) To come or go back (to a place or person).
(intransitive) To go back in thought, narration, or argument.
(intransitive) To recur; to come again.
(intransitive, obsolete) To turn back, retreat.
(transitive, obsolete) To turn (something) round.
(transitive) To place or put back something where it had been.
(transitive) To give something back to its original holder or owner.
To give in requital or recompense; to requite.
(transitive) To reciprocate (a visit or telephone call).
(transitive) To take back something to a vendor for a complete or partial refund.
(tennis) To bat the ball back over the net in response to a serve.
(card games) To play a card as a result of another player's lead.
(cricket) To throw a ball back to the wicket-keeper (or a fielder at that position) from somewhere in the field.
(transitive) To say in reply; to respond.
(intransitive, computing) To relinquish control to the calling procedure.
(transitive, computing) To pass (data) back to the calling procedure.
(transitive, dated) To retort; to throw back.
(transitive) To report, or bring back and make known.
(British, by extension) To elect according to the official report of the election officers.
(fencing) To give a thrust or cut after parrying a sword-thrust.
Examples
Although the birds fly north for the summer, they return here in winter.
The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.
"I came through and I shall return," General MacArthur declared when he spoke at Terowie of the beleagured Philippines.
As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help, and he stripped off his tunic at once.
To return to my story […]
Winter returns every year.
‘I suppose here is none woll be glad to returne – and as for me,’ seyde Sir Cador, ‘I had lever dye this day that onys to turne my bak.’
Whan Kyng Marke harde hym sey that worde, he returned his horse and abode by hym.
Please return your hands to your lap.
You should return the library book within one month.
[…] the Lord ſhall returne thy wickedneſſe vpon thine owne head.
Hello, I'm just returning your call. What did you want to talk about?
Yeah, it's $600,000 but, if it doesn't work, you can always return it. As long as it's undamaged and in the original packaging, I'll give you a full refund.
The player couldn't return the serve because it was so fast.
If one players plays a trump, the others must return a trump.
to return an answer; to return thanks; "Do it yourself!" she returned.
“No!” returned the spy. “I throw up. I confess that we were so unpopular with the outrageous mob, that I only got away from England at the risk of being ducked to death […]
“Ah my good friend, I do look out,” the young man returned while Maisie helped herself afresh to bread and butter.
This function returns the number of files in the directory.
to return the lie
And now, if you are a Malicious Reader, I expect you ſhould return upon me, that I affect to be thought more Impartial than I am.
to return the result of an election
And all the people anſwered together, [...] and Moſes returned the wordes of the people vnto the Lord.
Related words
synonyms
(undo a purchase): revend
related terms
return to form
noun
return (countable and uncountable, plural returns)
The act of returning.
A return ticket.
An item that is returned, e.g. due to a defect, or the act of returning it.
An answer.
An account, or formal report, of an action performed, of a duty discharged, of facts or statistics, etc.; especially, in the plural, a set of tabulated statistics prepared for general information.
Gain or loss from an investment.
(taxation, finance) A report of income submitted to a government for purposes of specifying exact tax payment amounts; a tax return.
(computing) A carriage return character.
(computing) The act of relinquishing control to the calling procedure.
(computing) A return value: the data passed back from a called procedure.
A return pipe, returning fluid to a boiler or other central plant (compare with flow pipe, which carries liquid away from a central plant).
A short perpendicular extension of a desk, usually slightly lower.
(American football) The act of catching a ball after a punt and running it back towards the opposing team.
(cricket) A throw from a fielder to the wicket-keeper or to another fielder at the wicket.
(architecture) The continuation in a different direction, most often at a right angle, of a building, face of a building, or any member, such as a moulding; applied to the shorter in contradistinction to the longer.
Examples
I expect the house to be spotless upon my return.
I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railroad station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.
[…] of the existence or nonexistence of parental intent to abandon a subject minor child, whether the best interests and welfare of such minor child will be served by taking custody from the parents, and whether return of a child to the parents would be detrimental to such child.
Do you want a one-way or a return?
Last year there were 250 returns of this product, an improvement on the 500 returns the year before.
a return to one's question
election returns; a return of the amount of goods produced or sold
The other returns having come in, the result of the poll, that Sir James Graham had been superseded by Major Aglionby, was declared at Carlisle soon after 11 a.m.
It yielded a return of 5%.
from the few hours we spend in prayer and the exercises of a pious life, the return is great and profitable
Liverpool have now won only five of their 17 home league games this season. It is a poor return for a team of Liverpool's pedigree and resources but, once again, Kenny Dalglish's team were the instigators of their own downfall as chance after chance went begging.
Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
Hand in your return within 90 days of the end of the tax year.
The boiler technician had to cut out the heating return to access the safety valve.
A facade of sixty feet east and west has a return of twenty feet north and south.
Related words
synonyms
(the act of returning): gaincoming