Meaning of return In English

• 0 to come or go back to a previous place:

  • Odysseus returned home/returned to his home after many years of travelling.

  • She left South Africa at the age of 15 and has never returned.

  • [ + to infinitive ] David returned (from work) to find his house had burned down.

  • Within a week, the situation had returned to normal.

  • Gandhi urged Indians to return to spinning their own yarn.

  • Every five minutes, he returned to the same subject.

• 1 to give, do, or get something after something similar has been given or done to you:

  • to return an invitation/greeting

  • I returned his stare.

  • I gave her a ride when her car broke down and now she is returning the favour (= doing something to help me in exchange).

  • The terrorists started shooting and the police returned fire (= started shooting back).

  • His representatives did not return a request for comment.

  • She hadn't returned their earlier queries because, she said, she had already explained herself clearly.

  • My investments return a high rate of interest.

• 2 to send, take, give, put, etc. something back to where it came from:

  • The new TV broke so they returned it to the shop.

  • He returned two books he had borrowed from me in 2003.

  • She carefully returned the book to its place on the shelf.

  • We're all hoping that Jill will be returned safely to her family.

• 3 to happen again:

  • You must go to the doctor if the pain returns.

• 4 to decide and say if you think someone is guilty or not guilty, or what punishment the person will be given in a court of law:

  • The jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

  • His case will proceed to a grand jury, which must decide whether to return an indictment.

  • The grand jury returned an indictment in January, charging the respondent with the three murders.

  • It was expected that he would be returned as premier.

• 5 an occasion when someone goes or comes back to a place where they were before:

  • The whole town came out to celebrate his return (from the war).

  • On her return, she went straight to the office.

  • Some environmentalists argue for a return to a pre-industrial society.

  • Most people have welcomed her return to power/office.

  • A return to Birmingham, please.

• 6 in exchange:

  • Some tenants get rent reductions in return for help managing the building.

  • I'll come with you, but you have to do something for me in return.

  • Several soldiers were wounded in the return of fire.

  • The return on the money we invested was very low.

• 7 an occasion when something starts to happen or be used again:

  • Will we ever see the return of/a return to comfortable fashion clothes?

• 8 the key on a computer keyboard that you press in order to say that the words or numbers on the screen are correct, or that an instruction should be performed, or in order to move down a line on the screen:

  • Press return/the return key twice to leave a blank line.

• 9 the act of giving, putting, or sending something back:

  • the return of the stolen goods

  • Chang's return of serve was powerful.

  • The election returns produced a confusing picture of gains and losses.

  • She answered my letter by return.

• 10 The return part of a journey is the part in which you go back to the place where you started:

  • The return journey took longer because the train was rerouted.

• 11 to come or go back to a previous place, subject, activity, or condition:

  • He returned to New York last week.

  • He worked at other jobs but kept returning to mining.

  • She was returning home from a business trip when the plane crashed.

• 12 to put, send, or give something back to where it came from:

  • Emily returned the blouse because it didn’t fit.

• 13 to give, do, or get something in exchange:

  • She just doesn’t return phone calls.

• 14 to decide on something such as a judgment or decision:

  • The jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

• 15 helping something to go or be sent back to where it came from:

  • return postage

• 16 if a business or an investment returns an amount of money, it produces a profit:

  • Last year all 60 branches of the business returned a profit.

  • The account is low-risk but returns just 0.5% interest.

• 17 to take or send a product back to the company that sold it to you. You usually do this if you want them to replace the product or to give you back your money:

  • Customers who return goods must present a receipt to get cash or credit.

• 18 to give back money that will not be used or that should not have been paid:

  • If the sale does not go through, the agent is obliged by law to return the deposit.

  • The department will return any overpayment or set it against your next tax bill.

• 19 to phone someone who has called you earlier:

  • I left several messages on his answer-phone, but he never returned my call.

  • He did not return the multiple messages left on his cell phone.

• 20 to go back to an earlier situation or to start doing something again:

  • return to sth The refinery may not return to full production until later in the summer.

  • Most women return to work at the end of their maternity leave.

  • return to growth/profit The business is expected to return to growth next year.

• 21 to send a cheque back to the person who wrote it, usually because they do not have enough money in the bank to pay the whole amount:

  • The bank returned our cheque for lack of funds.

• 22 to give an official opinion in a court of law about whether someone is guilty of a crime:

  • The jury returned a verdict of 'not guilty.'

• 23 the amount of profit made by an investment or a business activity:

  • The program guarantees lenders a return of 10% interest.

  • A fixed-rate investment will give you below-average returns.

  • return on sth We need to monitor our return on advertising.

  • make/see a return (on sth) They need to charge prices of over $20 a barrel in order to make a return.

  • If the market improves, we can make a return of $10,000 on our investment.

  • a positive/negative return

  • a good/high return I want an investment which offers a good return.

  • a low/modest return

  • produce/offer/yield a return

• 24 a product that is returned to a company because the buyer is not satisfied with it, or the act of returning products to a company:

  • An error in the manufacturing process led to hundreds of returns from dissatisfied customers.

  • Check that there is a return policy in case there is a problem with the goods that you buy.

• 25 an official document with details of your income that you send to the government tax department each year so that income tax can be calculated:

  • It is possible to file your return online.

  • When you have submitted your return, the Revenue promises you instant acknowledgement of its receipt.

  • complete/do your return

• 26 a situation in which someone or something goes back to an earlier position or activity:

  • a return to profit/growth/stability

  • The last year has seen a return to normal in the banking sector.

• 27 the key on a computer keyboard that you press to give an instruction, or to start a new line in a document:

  • Type in your name and then press return.

• 28 a ticket for a journey to a place and back again:

  • return to somewhere I need a return to Kings Cross Station.

• 29 using the next available mail collection to reply:

  • We received an invoice by return of post.

  • An answer by return would be appreciated.

• 30 relating to a journey to a particular place and back again:

  • a return journey/ticket/fare