Word.ws English Dictionary

return the favour

return the favour is the alternative spelling of return the favor.

Meaning of return the favor

Verb

return the favor (third-person singular simple present returns the favor, present participle returning the favor, simple past and past participle returned the favor)

  1. (idiomatic) To do something for someone, or to someone, similar to what they did for you or to you (whether good or bad).
    • I did some snow shoveling for him when he was ill, and he was kind enough to return the favor this year. [positive valence]

Forms of return the favour

third-person singular presentreturns the favour
present participlereturning the favour
past participlereturned the favour
pastreturned the favour

Questions about return the favour

What is return the favour the alternative spelling of?
Return the favour is the alternative spelling of return the favor.

Words near return the favour in the dictionary

  1. return spring
  2. return springs
  3. return tag
  4. return tags
  5. return the favor
  6. return the favour
  7. return ticket
  8. return tickets
  9. return time
  10. return times
  11. return to dust

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: return the favour (page history and authors); return the favor (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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Cite this entry: “return the favour.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/return_the_favour. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.