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Webster 1913 Edition

Return

Re-turn′

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Returned
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Returning
.]
[OE.
returnen
,
retournen
, F.
retourner
; pref.
re-
re- +
tourner
to turn. See
Turn
.]
1.
To turn back; to go or come again to the same place or condition.
“Return to your father’s house.”
Chaucer.
On their embattled ranks the waves
return
.
Milton.
If they
returned
out of bondage, it must be into a state of freedom.
Locke.
Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return
.
Gen. iii. 19.
2.
To come back, or begin again, after an interval, regular or irregular; to appear again.
With the year
Seasons
return
; but not me
returns

Day or the sweet approach of even or morn.
Milton.
3.
To speak in answer; to reply; to respond.
He said, and thus the queen of heaven
returned
.
Pope.
4.
To revert; to pass back into possession.
And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom
return
to the house of David.
1Kings xii. 26.
5.
To go back in thought, narration, or argument.
“But to return to my story.”
Fielding.

Re-turn′

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To bring, carry, send, or turn, back;
as, to
return
a borrowed book, or a hired horse
.
Both fled attonce, ne ever back
returned
eye.
Spenser.
2.
To repay;
as, to
return
borrowed money
.
3.
To give in requital or recompense; to requite.
The Lord shall
return
thy wickedness upon thine own head.
1 Kings ii. 44.
4.
To give back in reply;
as, to
return
an answer; to
return
thanks.
5.
To retort; to throw back;
as, to
return
the lie
.
If you are a malicious reader, you
return
upon me, that I affect to be thought more impartial than I am.
Dryden.
6.
To report, or bring back and make known.
And all the people answered together, . . . and Moses
returned
the words of the people unto the Lord.
Ex. xix. 8.
7.
To render, as an account, usually an official account, to a superior; to report officially by a list or statement;
as, to
return
a list of stores, of killed or wounded; to
return
the result of an election.
8.
Hence, to elect according to the official report of the election officers.
[Eng.]
9.
To bring or send back to a tribunal, or to an office, with a certificate of what has been done;
as, to
return
a writ
.
10.
To convey into official custody, or to a general depository.
Instead of a ship, he should levy money, and
return
the same to the treasurer for his majesty's use.
Clarendon.
11.
(Tennis)
To bat (the ball) back over the net.
12.
(Card Playing)
To lead in response to the lead of one's partner;
as, to
return
a trump; to
return
a diamond for a club.
To return a lead
(Card Playing)
,
to lead the same suit led by one's partner.
Syn. – To restore; requite; repay; recompense; render; remit; report.

Re-turn′

,
Noun.
1.
The act of returning (intransitive), or coming back to the same place or condition;
as, the
return
of one long absent; the
return
of health; the
return
of the seasons, or of an anniversary.
At the
return
of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
1 Kings xx. 22.
His personal
return
was most required and necessary.
Shakespeare
2.
The act of returning (transitive), or sending back to the same place or condition; restitution; repayment; requital; retribution;
as, the
return
of anything borrowed, as a book or money; a good
return
in tennis.
You made my liberty your late request:
Is no
return
due from a grateful breast?
Dryden.
3.
That which is returned.
Specifically:
(a)
A payment; a remittance; a requital.
I do expect
return

Of thrice three times the value of this bond.
Shakespeare
(b)
An answer; as, a return to one's question.
(c)
An account, or formal report, of an action performed, of a duty discharged, of facts or statistics, and the like;
as, election
returns
; a
return
of the amount of goods produced or sold
; especially, in the plural, a set of tabulated statistics prepared for general information.
(d)
The profit on, or advantage received from, labor, or an investment, undertaking, adventure, etc.
The fruit from many days of recreation is very little; but from these few hours we spend in prayer, the
return
is great.
Jer. Taylor.
4.
(Arch.)
The continuation in a different direction, most often at a right angle, of a building, face of a building, or any member, as a molding or mold; – applied to the shorter in contradistinction to the longer; thus, a facade of sixty feet east and west has a return of twenty feet north and south.
5.
(Law)
(a)
The rendering back or delivery of writ, precept, or execution, to the proper officer or court.
(b)
The certificate of an officer stating what he has done in execution of a writ, precept, etc., indorsed on the document.
(c)
The sending back of a commission with the certificate of the commissioners.
(d)
A day in bank. See
Return day
, below.
Blackstone.
6.
(Mil. & Naval)
An official account, report, or statement, rendered to the commander or other superior officer;
as, the
return
of men fit for duty; the
return
of the number of the sick; the
return
of provisions, etc.
7.
pl.
(Fort. & Mining)
The turnings and windings of a trench or mine.
Return ball
,
a ball held by an elastic string so that it returns to the hand from which it is thrown, – used as a plaything.
–
Return bend
,
a pipe fitting for connecting the contiguous ends of two nearly parallel pipes lying alongside or one above another.
–
Return day
(Law)
,
the day when the defendant is to appear in court, and the sheriff is to return the writ and his proceedings.
–
Return flue
,
in a steam boiler, a flue which conducts flame or gases of combustion in a direction contrary to their previous movement in another flue.
–
Return pipe
(Steam Heating)
,
a pipe by which water of condensation from a heater or radiator is conveyed back toward the boiler.

Webster 1828 Edition

Return

RETURN

,
Verb.
I.
[L. torno.]
1.
To come or go back to the same place. The gentleman goes from the country to London and returns, or the citizen of London rides into the country and returns. The blood propelled from the heart, passes through the arteries to the extremities of the body, and returns through the veins. Some servants are good to go on errands, but not good to return.
2.
To come to the same state; as, to return from bondage to a state of freedom.
3.
To answer.
He said, and thus the queen of heaven return'd.
4.
To come again; to revisit.
Thou to mankind be good and friendly still, and oft return.
5.
To appear or begin again after a periodical revolution.
With the year seasons return, but not to me returns day -
6.
To show fresh signs of mercy.
Return, O Lord, deliver my soul. Ps. 6.
To return to God, to return from wickedness, to repent of sin or wandering from duty.

Definition 2024

return

return

English

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.‎
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess:
      As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help, and he stripped off his tunic at once.
  2. (intransitive) To go back in thought, narration, or argument.
    To return to my story […] ‎
  3. (intransitive, obsolete) To turn back, retreat.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, Bk.V:
      ‘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.’
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To turn (something) round.
  5. (transitive) To place or put back something where it had been.
    Please return your hands to your lap.‎
  6. (transitive) To give something back to its original holder or owner.
    You should return the library book within one month.‎
  7. (transitive) To take back something to a vendor for a refund.
    If the goods don't work, you can return them.‎
  8. To give in requital or recompense; to requite.
    • Bible, 1 Kings ii.44
      The Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head.
  9. (tennis) To bat the ball back over the net in response to a serve.
    The player couldn't return the serve because it was so fast.‎
  10. (card games) To play a card as a result of another player's lead.
    If one players plays a trump, the others must return a trump.‎
  11. (cricket) To throw a ball back to the wicket-keeper (or a fielder at that position) from somewhere in the field.
  12. (transitive) To say in reply; to respond.
    to return an answer;  to return thanks
    • 1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew
      ‘Ah my good friend, I do look out!’ the young man returned while Maisie helped herself afresh to bread and butter.
    • 1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
      “No!” returned the spy. “I throw up. I confess that we were so unpopular with the outrageous mob, that I only got away from England at the risk of being ducked to death […]
  13. (intransitive, computing) To relinquish control to the calling procedure.
  14. (transitive, computing) To pass (data) back to the calling procedure.
    This function returns the number of files in the directory.‎
  15. (transitive, dated) To retort; to throw back.
    to return the lie
    • Dryden
      If you are a malicious reader, you return upon me, that I affect to be thought more impartial than I am.
  16. (transitive) To report, or bring back and make known.
    to return the result of an election
    • Bible, Exodus xix.8
      And all the people answered together, […] and Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.
  17. (by extension, Britain) To elect according to the official report of the election officers.

Related terms

Translations

Noun

return ‎(plural returns)

  1. The act of returning.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
      I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.
    I expect the house to be spotless upon my return.‎
  2. A return ticket.
    Do you want a one-way or a return?‎
  3. An item that is returned, e.g. due to a defect, or the act of returning it.
    Last year there were 250 returns of this product, an improvement on the 500 returns the year before.‎
  4. An answer.
    a return to one's question
  5. 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.
    election returns; a return of the amount of goods produced or sold
  6. Gain or loss from an investment.
    • Jeremy Taylor
      The fruit from many days of recreation is very little; but from these few hours we spend in prayer, the return is great.
    • 2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:
      Liverpool have now won only five of their 17 home league games this season. It is a poor return for a team of Liverpool's pedigree and resources but, once again, Kenny Dalglish's team were the instigators of their own downfall as chance after chance went begging.
    • 2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:
      Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
    It yielded a return of 5%.‎
  7. (taxation, finance): A report of income submitted to a government for purposes of specifying exact tax payment amounts. A tax return.
    Hand in your return by the end of the tax year.‎
  8. (computing) A carriage return character.
  9. (computing) The act of relinquishing control to the calling procedure.
  10. (computing) A return value: the data passed back from a called procedure.
  11. A short perpendicular extension of a desk, usually slightly lower.
  12. (American football) Catching a ball after a punt and running it back towards the opposing team.
  13. (cricket) A throw from a fielder to the wicket-keeper or to another fielder at the wicket.
  14. (architecture) 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.
    A facade of sixty feet east and west has a return of twenty feet north and south.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: second · United · free · #348: return · call · speak · land

Anagrams

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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