Word.ws English Dictionary

returned

Syllables: re·turnedUK/ɹɪˈtəːnd//ɹɪˈtɝnd/

returned is the simple past and past participle of return.

Adjective

returned (comparative more returned, superlative most returned)

  1. Bent back; angled.
  2. That has come back.
  3. Yielded as a return on an investment etc.
  4. (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US) Back home having been discharged from military service.
    • There are about thirty full-blooded returned men in this state whom I believe are not entitled to the old-age pension.1941, Pearl Gibbs, radio broadcast, in Heiss & Minter, Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature, Allen & Unwin 2008, p. 38

Meaning of return

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To come or go back (to a place or person).
    • Although the birds fly north for the summer, they return here in winter.
  2. (intransitive) To go back in thought, narration, or argument.
    • To return to my story[…]
  3. (intransitive) To recur; to come again.
    • Winter returns every year.
  4. (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]...
  5. (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...
  6. (transitive) To place or put back something where it had been.
    • Please return your hands to your lap.

See all 36 meanings of return

Forms of returned

comparativemore returned
superlativemost returned

Words formed from returned

Phrases with returned

Questions about returned

What does returned mean?
Returned means bent back; angled.
What is returned the simple past and past participle of?
Returned is the simple past and past participle of return.
What part of speech is returned?
Returned is an adjective.
How do you pronounce returned?
Returned is pronounced /ɹɪˈtəːnd/ (UK).

Words near returned in the dictionary

  1. returnability
  2. returnable
  3. returnables
  4. returnal
  5. returne
  6. returned
  7. returned fire
  8. returned the favor
  9. returned the favour
  10. returned to dust
  11. returned to form

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: returned (page history and authors); return (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.

Last updated:

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

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