RETURN

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does return mean? 

• RETURN (noun)
  The noun RETURN has 13 senses:

1. document giving the tax collector information about the taxpayer's tax liability

2. a coming to or returning home

3. the occurrence of a change in direction back in the opposite direction

4. getting something back again

5. the act of going back to a prior location

6. the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property

7. happening again (especially at regular intervals)

8. a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)

9. the key on electric typewriters or computer keyboards that causes a carriage return and a line feed

10. a reciprocal group action

11. a tennis stroke that sends the ball back to the other player

12. (American football) the act of running back the ball after a kickoff or punt or interception or fumble

13. the act of someone appearing again

  Familiarity information: RETURN used as a noun is familiar.

• RETURN (verb)
  The verb RETURN has 16 senses:

1. go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before

2. give back

3. go back to a previous state

4. go back to something earlier

5. bring back to the point of departure

6. return in kind

7. make a return

8. answer back

9. be restored

10. pay back

11. pass down

12. elect again

13. be inherited by

14. return to a previous position; in mathematics

15. give or supply

16. submit (a report, etc.) to someone in authority

  Familiarity information: RETURN used as a verb is very familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RETURN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Document giving the tax collector information about the taxpayer's tax liability

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

income tax return; return; tax return

Context example:

his gross income was enough that he had to file a tax return

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

instrument; legal document; legal instrument; official document ((law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "return"):

joint return (a return filed by a husband and wife)

information return (a return that provides information to the tax collector but does not compute the tax liability)

declaration of estimated tax; estimated tax return (return required of a taxpayer whose tax withheld from income does not meet the tax liability for the year)

amended return (a tax return that corrects the information in an earlier return)

false return (an incorrect income tax return)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A coming to or returning home

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

homecoming; return

Context example:

on his return from Australia we gave him a welcoming party

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

arrival (the act of arriving at a certain place)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "return"):

repatriation (the act of returning to the country of origin)

Derivation:

return (go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The occurrence of a change in direction back in the opposite direction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

coming back; return

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

turn; turning (a movement in a new direction)

Derivation:

return (go back to a previous state)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Getting something back again

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

regaining; restitution; restoration; return

Context example:

upon the restitution of the book to its rightful owner the child was given a tongue lashing

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

acquisition (the act of contracting or assuming or acquiring possession of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "return"):

clawback (finding a way to take money back from people that they were given in another way)

Derivation:

return (give back)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The act of going back to a prior location

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

they set out on their return to the base camp

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

motion; move; movement (the act of changing location from one place to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "return"):

reentry (the act of entering again)

remand (the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial))

Derivation:

return (go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before)

return (bring back to the point of departure)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

issue; payoff; proceeds; return; take; takings; yield

Context example:

the average return was about 5%

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

income (the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "return"):

economic rent; rent (the return derived from cultivated land in excess of that derived from the poorest land cultivated under similar conditions)

payback (financial return or reward (especially returns equal to the initial investment))

Derivation:

return (give or supply)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Happening again (especially at regular intervals)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

recurrence; return

Context example:

the return of spring

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

repeat; repetition (an event that repeats)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "return"):

atavism; reversion; throwback (a reappearance of an earlier characteristic)

flashback (an unexpected but vivid recurrence of a past experience (especially a recurrence of the effects of an hallucinogenic drug taken much earlier))

Sense 8

Meaning:

A quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

comeback; counter; rejoinder; replication; retort; return; riposte

Context example:

it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

reply; response (the speech act of continuing a conversational exchange)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "return"):

back talk; backtalk; lip; mouth; sass; sassing (an impudent or insolent rejoinder)

Derivation:

return (answer back)

return (return in kind)

Sense 9

Meaning:

The key on electric typewriters or computer keyboards that causes a carriage return and a line feed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

return; return key

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

key (a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed)

Sense 10

Meaning:

A reciprocal group action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

getting even; paying back; return

Context example:

in return we gave them as good as we got

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

group action (action taken by a group of people)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "return"):

payment; requital (an act of requiting; returning in kind)

retaliation; revenge (action taken in return for an injury or offense)

reciprocation (the act of making or doing something in return)

tit for tat (an equivalent given in return)

Sense 11

Meaning:

A tennis stroke that sends the ball back to the other player

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

he won the point on a cross-court return

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

tennis shot; tennis stroke (the act of hitting a tennis ball with a tennis racket)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "return"):

ground stroke (a tennis return made by hitting the ball after it has bounced once)

volley (a tennis return made by hitting the ball before it bounces)

passing shot (a tennis return that passes an opponent who has approached the net)

overhead; smash (a hard return hitting the tennis ball above your head)

lob (an easy return of a tennis ball in a high arc)

half volley (a tennis return made by hitting the ball immediately after it bounces)

get (a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent)

forehand; forehand shot; forehand stroke ((sports) a return made with the palm of the hand facing the direction of the stroke (as in tennis or badminton or squash))

dink; drop shot (a soft return so that the tennis ball drops abruptly after crossing the net)

drive ((sports) a hard straight return (as in tennis or squash))

chop; chop shot (a tennis return made with a downward motion that puts backspin on the ball)

backhand; backhand shot; backhand stroke (a return made with the back of the hand facing the direction of the stroke)

Holonyms ("return" is a part of...):

lawn tennis; tennis (a game played with rackets by two or four players who hit a ball back and forth over a net that divides the court)

Sense 12

Meaning:

(American football) the act of running back the ball after a kickoff or punt or interception or fumble

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

run; running; running game; running play ((American football) a play in which a player attempts to carry the ball through or past the opposing team)

Domain category:

American football; American football game (a game played by two teams of 11 players on a rectangular field 100 yards long; teams try to get possession of the ball and advance it across the opponents goal line in a series of (running or passing) plays)

Derivation:

return (make a return)

Sense 13

Meaning:

The act of someone appearing again

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

reappearance; return

Context example:

his reappearance as Hamlet has been long awaited

Hypernyms ("return" is a kind of...):

appearance (the act of appearing in public view)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "return"):

comeback (return by a celebrity to some previously successful activity)

• RETURN (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

the professor returned to his teaching position after serving as Dean

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "return"):

revisit (visit again)

bounce (come back after being refused)

boomerang (return to the initial position from where it came; like a boomerang)

return (return to a previous position; in mathematics)

go home; head home (return home)

home (return home accurately from a long distance)

cut back; flash back (return in time)

backtrack; double back; turn back (retrace one's course)

retrace; trace (to go back over again)

resurrect; rise; uprise (return from the dead)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

The children return to the playground

Derivation:

return (a coming to or returning home)

return (the act of going back to a prior location)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Give back

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

render; return

Context example:

render money

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

give (transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "return"):

feed back; resubmit (submit (information) again to a program or automatic system)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Derivation:

return (getting something back again)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Go back to a previous state

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

regress; retrovert; return; revert; turn back

Context example:

We reverted to the old rules

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

change by reversal; reverse; turn (change to the contrary)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "return"):

resile (return to the original position or state after being stretched or compressed)

go back; recover; recuperate (regain a former condition after a financial loss)

fall back; lapse; recidivate; regress; relapse; retrogress (go back to bad behavior)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

return (the occurrence of a change in direction back in the opposite direction)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Go back to something earlier

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

come back; hark back; recall; return

Context example:

This harks back to a previous remark of his

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

denote; refer (have as a meaning)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "return"):

go back; recur (return in thought or speech to something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sense 5

Meaning:

Bring back to the point of departure

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

bring back; return; take back

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

bring; convey; take (take something or somebody with oneself somewhere)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

They return the parcel to their parents

Derivation:

return (the act of going back to a prior location)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Return in kind

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

return her love

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

reciprocate (act, feel, or give mutually or in return)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "return"):

redound (return or recoil)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

return (a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one))

Sense 7

Meaning:

Make a return

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

return a kickback

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

carry; transport (move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body)

Domain category:

football; football game (any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

return ((American football) the act of running back the ball after a kickoff or punt or interception or fumble)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Answer back

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

come back; rejoin; repay; retort; return; riposte

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

answer; reply; respond (react verbally)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

return (a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one))

Sense 9

Meaning:

Be restored

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

come back; return

Context example:

Her old vigor returned

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

re-emerge; reappear (appear again)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 10

Meaning:

Pay back

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

give back; refund; repay; return

Context example:

Please refund me my money

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

pay (give money, usually in exchange for goods or services)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "return"):

reimburse (pay back for some expense incurred)

restitute; restore (give or bring back)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Sentence examples:

They return the money to them
They return them the money

Sense 11

Meaning:

Pass down

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

deliver; render; return

Context example:

deliver a judgment

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

communicate; pass; pass along; pass on; put across (transmit information)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 12

Meaning:

Elect again

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

reelect; return

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

elect (select by a vote for an office or membership)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 13

Meaning:

Be inherited by

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

devolve; fall; pass; return

Context example:

The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

change hands; change owners (be transferred to another owner)

Verb group:

accrue; fall (come into the possession of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "return"):

fall; light (fall to somebody by assignment or lot)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sense 14

Meaning:

Return to a previous position; in mathematics

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The point returned to the interior of the figure

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

return (go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 15

Meaning:

Give or supply

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

generate; give; render; return; yield

Context example:

The estate renders some revenue for the family

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

create; make; produce (create or manufacture a man-made product)

Verb group:

give; yield (cause to happen or be responsible for)

establish; give (bring about)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

return (the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property)

Sense 16

Meaning:

Submit (a report, etc.) to someone in authority

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

submit a bill to a legislative body

Hypernyms (to "return" is one way to...):

submit (refer for judgment or consideration)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "return"):

report out (return a bill after consideration and revision to a legislative body)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

 Context examples 

"Nicely, thank you, Mr. Laurence. But I am not Miss March, I'm only Jo," returned the young lady.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

"We shall go tomorrow morning," returned the Scarecrow.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

"What is the use of returning?" he said.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And at last the man yielded with a heavy heart, and took the rose; and said he would give the lion whatever should meet him first on his return.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

When Mercury is retrograde, the chances you will buy something that your recipient will return skyrockets.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Then he returned and took up his burden.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Sodium ion requiring one electron to return to its elemental state.

(Na+, NCI Thesaurus/CRCH)

Charles and Henrietta returned, bringing, as may be conjectured, Charles Hayter with them.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

One of two veins (inferior or superior) that returns deoxygenated blood from the intestines.

(Mesenteric Vein, NCI Thesaurus)

Can be accessed by telephone with information returned by FAX.

(CancerFax, NCI Thesaurus)