return

Syllables: re·turnUK/ɹɪˈtɜːn//ɹɪˈtɝn/

return verb: to come or go back (to a place or person).

Image: RyGuy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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).
- 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...1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58
(intransitive) To go back in thought, narration, or argument.
- To return to my story[…]
(intransitive) To recur; to come again.
- Winter returns every year.
(intransitive, obsolete) To turn back, retreat.
- ‘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.’1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book V, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich]...
(obsolete, transitive) To turn (something) round.
- Whan Kyng Marke harde hym sey that worde, he returned his horse and abode by hym.1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum xiij”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book X, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer...
(transitive) To place or put back something where it had been.
- Please return your hands to your lap.
- Strain the stock and return it to the pan.
(transitive) To give something back to its original holder or owner.
- You should return the library book within one month.
To give in requital or recompense; to requite.
- […]the Lord ſhall returne thy wickedneſſe vpon thine owne head.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 2:44, column 2
(transitive) To reciprocate (a visit or telephone call, electronic message, etc.).
- Hello, I’m just returning your call. What did you want to talk about?
- I wrote to my ex-wife but she won't return my emails.
(transitive) To take back something to a vendor for a complete or partial refund.
- 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.
To bat the ball back over the net in response to a serve.
- The player couldn’t return the serve because it was so fast.
To play a card as a result of another player’s lead.
- If one players plays a trump, the others must return a trump.

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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.
- 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 […]1859, Charles Dickens, “A Hand at Cards”, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book III (The Track of a Storm), page 205
(intransitive) To relinquish control to the calling procedure.
(transitive) To pass (data) back to the calling procedure.
- This function returns the number of files in the directory.
(dated, transitive) To retort; to throw back.
- to return the lie
- And novv, if you are a Malitious Reader, I expect you ſhould return upon me, that I affect to be thought more Impartial than I am.1681, [John Dryden], “To the Reader”, in Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem, London: […] J[acob] T[onson] and are to be sold by W. Davis […], →OCLC
(transitive) To report, or bring back and make known.
- to return the result of an election
- And all the people anſwered together, [...] and Moſes returned the wordes of the people vnto the Lord.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 19:8, column 2
(Commonwealth, broadly, dated) To elect to a certain office.
- he was returned as a Member of Parliament
To give a thrust or cut after parrying a sword-thrust.

Noun

return (countable and uncountable, plural returns)

The act of returning.
- 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.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 12–13
Synonyms:

gaincoming
A return ticket.
- Do you want a one-way or a return?
An item that is returned, e.g. due to a defect.
- Most product returns to the top retailers in the USA (either direct from the consumer or through non-sales) will be taken back by the original suppliers for rework or disposal.2017, John Gattorna, Strategic Supply Chain Alignment, page 623
An answer.
- a return to one’s question
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.
- 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.1942 May-June, Charles E. Lee, “The Brampton Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 140, relating to an election in 1837
Gain or loss from an investment.
- 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 profitable1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC
A report of income submitted to a government for purposes of specifying exact tax payment amounts; a tax return.
- Hand in your return within 90 days of the end of the tax year.
A carriage return character.
The act of relinquishing control to the calling procedure.
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).
- The boiler technician had to cut out the heating return to access the safety valve.
A roadway along which foul air travels from the face on its way out of the mine.

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The act of catching a ball after a punt and running it back towards the opposing team.
A throw from a fielder to the wicket-keeper or to another fielder at the wicket.
A short perpendicular extension of a desk, usually slightly lower.
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.
- A facade of sixty feet east and west has a return of twenty feet north and south.

return meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

return in Hindi

to come or go back: लौटना lauṭnā
to give something back to its original holder or owner: वापस देना vāpas denā

return in Tamil

திரும்பு, திரும்ப அனுப்பு, பிரதிபலன், கைம்மாறு

return in Marathi

return: परत parat
to return, come back: परतणे paratṇe
to return, be resurrected,: उगवणे ugavṇe

return in Urdu

to come or go back: لوٹا lauṭnā

More languagesFewer languages

return in Bengali: ফেরা phera, দেয়া deẏa
return in Telugu: మాఱు māṟu
return in Malayalam: മടങ്ങുക maṭaṅṅuka, തിരിച്ചുവരിക tiriccuvarika, തിരിച്ച് tiriccŭ, മറു maṟu
return in Kannada: ಹಿಂದಿರುಗುವುದು, ಮರಳುವುದು, ವಾಪಸಾಗುವುದು, ಪುನರಾಗಮನ
return in Punjabi: ਪਰਤਣਾ partaṇā, ਮੁੜਣਾ muṛṇā
return in Gujarati: પાછું આવવું pāchũ āvavũ
return in Odia: ଦେଇ ଆସିବା Dei āsibā
return in Sanskrit: प्रतिगच्छति pratigacchati, वल् val, एति éti, प्रत्यागमन pratyāgamana
return in Assamese: উভত ubhot
return in Nepali: फिर्ती
return in Tagalog: bumalik, isauli, ibalik, pagbalik
return in Arabic: رَجَعَ rajaʕa, عَادَ ʕāda, أَرْجَعَ ʔarjaʕa, أَعَادَ ʔaʕāda
return in Malay: kembali, pulang, memulangkan
return in Indonesian: balik, membalik, pulang, retur
return in Persian: برگشتن bargaštan, بازگشتن bâzgaštan, برگرداندن bargardândan, بازگرداندن bâz-gardândan
return in Thai: กลับมา glàp maa, กลับ glàp
return in Vietnamese: về, trở lại, trở về, trả
return in Myanmar: ပြန် pran

Examples of return in a sentence

The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company...
“I came through and I shall return,” General MacArthur declared when he spoke at Terowie of the beleagured Philippines.1942, “‘I Came Through; I Shall Return”, in The Advertiser:
As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully.1963, Margery Allingham, “Meeting Point”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 232:
“Ah my good friend, I do look out,” the young man returned while Maisie helped herself afresh to bread and butter.1897 October 16, Henry James, chapter XII, in What Maisie Knew, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Herbert S. Stone & Co., →OCLC, page 132:

All 40 example sentences with return

Synonyms of return

Antonyms

take

All synonyms and antonyms of return

Forms of return

Verb
third-person singular present	returns
present participle	returning
past participle	returned
past	returned
second-person singular present (archaic)	returnest
second-person singular past (archaic)	returnedst
third-person singular present (archaic)	returneth
alternative form (obsolete)	returne
Noun
plural	returns

Past tense of return: returned

Plural of return: returns

Origin of return

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”). By surface analysis, re- + turn. Compare beturn. Displaced native Old English eftċierran, literally "eft-char".

Words formed from return

Phrases with return

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Words that rhyme with return

28 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about return

What does return mean?: Return means to come or go back (to a place or person).
What is return in Hindi?: Return in Hindi is लौटना (lauṭnā), वापस देना (vāpas denā). See Return meaning in Hindi.
How do you use return in a sentence?: The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs.
What part of speech is return?: Return can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce return?: Return is pronounced /ɹɪˈtɜːn/ (UK).
What is the past tense of return?: The past tense of return is returned.

Words near return in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-return.ogg, en-us-return.ogg.

Cite this entry: “return.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/return. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.