return

Meanings

Verb

  • To come or go back (to a place or person).
  • To go back in thought, narration, or argument.
  • To recur; to come again.
  • To turn back, retreat.
  • To turn (something) round.
  • To place or put back something where it had been.
  • To give something back to its original holder or owner.
  • To take back something to a vendor for a refund.
  • To give in requital or recompense; to requite.
  • To bat the ball back over the net in response to a serve.
  • To play a card as a result of another player's lead.
  • To throw a ball back to the wicket-keeper (or a fielder at that position) from somewhere in the field.
  • To say in reply; to respond.
  • To relinquish control to the calling procedure.
  • To pass (data) back to the calling procedure.
  • To retort; to throw back.
  • To report, or bring back and make known.
  • To elect according to the official report of the election officers.

Noun

  • The act of returning.
  • A return ticket.
  • An item that is returned, e.g. due to a defect, or the act of returning it.
  • An answer.
  • 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.
  • Gain or loss from an investment.
  • A report of income submitted to a government for purposes of specifying exact tax payment amounts. A tax return.
  • 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 central plant).
  • A short perpendicular extension of a desk, usually slightly lower.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Related

Similar words

Origin

  • From Middle English returnen, retornen, from Anglo-Norman returner, from Old French retourner, retorner, from Medieval Latin retornare ("to turn back"), from re- + tornare. Compare beturn.

Modern English dictionary

Explore and search massive catalog of over 900,000 word meanings.

Word of the Day

Get a curated memorable word every day.

Challenge yourself

Level up your vocabulary by setting personal goals.

And much more

Try out Vedaist now.