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- DictionaryRe·turn/rəˈtərn/
verb
- 1. come or go back to a place or person: "he returned to Canada in the fall" Similar go backcome backget backarrive backarrive homecome homecome againOpposite departset out
- ▪ go back to (a particular state or activity): "Ollie had returned to full health"
- ▪ turn one's attention back to (something): "he returned to his newspaper"
- ▪ (especially of a feeling) come back or recur after a period of absence: "her appetite had returned" Similar happen againrecurreoccuroccur againbe repeatedrepeat (itself)come around (again)reappearappear againflare uprare:recrudesceOpposite disappear
- 2. give, put, or send (something) back to a place or person: "complete the application form and return it to this address" Similar give backsend backhand backtake backcarry backpay backrepayremitrestoreput backreplacereinstatereinstallOpposite keepthrow away
- ▪ feel, say, or do (the same feeling, action, etc.) in response: "she returned his kiss" Similar reciprocaterequitefeel/give in returnrepaysend/give in responsegive backmatchequalwish someone the sameOpposite ignore
- ▪ (in tennis and other sports) hit or send (the ball) back to an opponent: "the aim is to make the other side unable to return the ball" Similar hit backsend backthrow backOpposite miss
- ▪ run upfield with the ball after fielding (a kick), intercepting (a pass), or recovering (a fumble): "they had six passes intercepted—five were returned for touchdowns"
- ▪ (of a judge or jury) state or present (a verdict) in response to a formal request: "the jury returned the unanimous guilty verdict" Similar deliverbring inhand downrendersubmitannouncepronounceproclaim
- ▪ lead (a card of a suit led earlier by one's partner): "he returned a Diamond won by his partner who now played the 10 of Spades"
- 3. yield or make (a profit): "the company returned a profit of 4.3 million dollars" Similar yieldbring inearnmakerealizesecurenetgrossclearpay outfetchpocket
- 4. (of an electorate) elect (a person or party) to office: "the Democrat was returned in the third district" Similar electvote input in powerchooseopt forselectpickadopt
- 5. continue (a wall) in a changed direction, especially at right angles.
noun
- 1. an act of coming or going back to a place or activity: "he celebrated his safe return from the war" Similar homecomingtravel backOpposite departure
- ▪ an act of going back to an earlier state or condition: "the designer advocated a return to elegance" Similar recurrencereoccurrencerepeatrerunrepetitionreappearanceflare-uprevivalrebirthrenaissanceresurrectionreawakeningre-emergenceresurgencerare:recrudescencerenascenceOpposite disappearance
- ▪ the action of giving, sending, or putting something back: "we demand the return of our books and papers" Similar giving backhanding backreplacementrestorationreinstatementreinstallationrestitutionrare:reinstalment
- ▪ a play in which the ball is caught after a kick or pass interception and is advanced by running; an advance of this kind.
- ▪ (in tennis and other sports) a stroke played in response to a serve or other stroke by one's opponent.
- ▪ a thing that has been given or sent back, especially an unwanted ticket for a sports event or play: "it might be worth checking with the box office for returns" Similar returned itemunsold itemunwanted item/ticketrejectexchange
- ▪ a ticket that allows someone to travel to a place and back again; a round trip ticket: British "a return ticket to the airport" Similar return ticket/fareround trip ticket/fareOpposite single
- ▪ an electrical conductor bringing a current back to its source.
- ▪ a second contest between the same opponents.
- 2. a profit from an investment: "product areas are being developed to produce maximum returns" Similar yieldprofitreturnsgainincomerevenueinterestdividendpercentageinformal:bunce
- ▪ a good rate of return.
- 3. an official report or statement submitted in response to a formal demand: "census returns" Similar statementreportsubmissionaccountpaperrecordfiledossierwrite-updatainformationlogjournaldiaryregistersummarydocumentform
- ▪ an official report of the results of an election: "election returns showed his candidate had lost by 304 votes"
- ▪ an endorsement or report by a court officer or sheriff on a writ.
- 4. election to office: "we campaigned for the return of Young and Elkins"
- 5. a key pressed to move the carriage of an electric typewriter back to a fixed position.
- ▪ a key pressed on a computer keyboard to simulate a carriage return in a word-processing program, or to indicate the end of a command or data string.
- 6. a part receding from the line of the front, for example the side of a house or of a window opening.
Word Origin Middle English: the verb from Old French returner, from Latin re- ‘back’ + tornare ‘to turn’; the noun via Anglo-Norman French.
Derivatives
- 1. returnable adjective
- 2. returnless adjective
Scrabble Points: 6
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1E
1T
1U
1R
1N
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