Word.ws English Dictionary

by return

by return is the alternative form of by return of post.

Meaning of by return of post

Prepositional phrase

  1. (UK) Replying in the next available mail delivery.
    • In mercantile transactions an offer must as a rule be accepted by return of post, or at any rate by a letter posted on the day on which the offer was received.1909, Hardinge Stanley Giffard, The Laws of England: Being a Complete Statement of the Whole Laws of England Whole, page 353
  2. (UK, broadly, figuratively) Replying immediately or as soon as possible.
    • Osborn replied almost by return of post that he agreed with my suggestions if we could get together a competent group to do the work.1987, Sir Frederick James Osborn, Arnold Whittick, F.J.O. - Practical Idealist: A Biography of Sir Frederic Osborn, page 76

Questions about by return

What is by return the alternative form of?
By return is the alternative form of by return of post.

Words near by return in the dictionary

  1. by one's own hand
  2. by oneself
  3. by owner
  4. by rail
  5. by reason of
  6. by return
  7. by return mail
  8. by return of post
  9. by right
  10. by right of
  11. by rights

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: by return (page history and authors); by return of post (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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