# return

Pronunciation: say "ri-TURN" US /ɹɪˈtɝn/, UK /ɹɪˈtɜːn/

## Verb

1. To arrive back at a place, or rejoin a person, after being away.
   - Simple: To come or go back to a place or person you were with before.
   - _Soldiers return to their families once their deployment ends._
   - _The hikers returned to camp before nightfall._
2. To happen again; to come back after a time.
   - Simple: To happen again after some time has passed.
   - _The symptoms returned a few weeks after treatment._
   - _Doubts always return when the work gets hard._
4. To give, put, or send something back to the person who had it or to the place where it was before.
   - Simple: To give something back to its owner, or put it back where it was before.
   - _Always return borrowed tools to their owner._
   - _She returned the necklace to the woman who had lent it._
7. To take or send a purchased item back to the seller for a refund, a replacement, or store credit.
   - Simple: To take or send something you bought back to the store to get your money back or a different item.
   - _Customers can return unwanted gifts within thirty days._
   - _He returned the faulty laptop and got his money back._
9. To give, do, or feel something in response to what someone else has given or done, as in returning a favor, a call, a visit, or a smile.
   - Simple: To do the same thing back to someone, like calling them back or repaying a kindness.
   - _She returned their generosity with years of loyal friendship._
   - _We always try to return kindness with kindness._
12. To go back to an earlier point in thought, narration, or argument.
   - Simple: To go back to an earlier idea or point in a story.
   - _After a long digression, we return to the central argument._
   - _The speaker returned to her opening point at the very end._
11. Of a function or procedure in computing, to finish and pass control, and often a resulting value, back to the code that called it.
   - Simple: In programming, for a function to finish and give a result back to the code that used it.
   - _The function returns the sum of the two numbers._
   - _Write code that will return an error message if the file is missing._
14. To report something, or bring it back and make it known.
   - Simple: To bring back news of something and make it known.
   - _The committee returned its findings to the board._
   - _Census takers return accurate counts to the central office._
15. To say something in reply, often quickly or sharply; to answer or retort.
   - Simple: To say something as an answer, often quickly or sharply.
   - _She returned a calm answer to the angry question._
   - _Whenever his sister teased him, he was ready to return a quick insult without even looking up from his phone._
18. In tennis and similar games, to hit the ball back to an opponent, especially after a serve.
   - Simple: To hit the ball back over the net after the other player serves.
   - _He returned the serve with a sharp cross-court shot._
   - _Few players can return a serve traveling at 130 miles per hour._
22. To declare someone elected according to the official report of the election officers. *(British)*
   - Simple: In Britain, to officially declare that someone has won an election.
   - _The borough returned a Liberal candidate by a wide margin._
   - _Constituencies that return an independent member are rare._
23. Of a fielder in cricket, to throw the ball in from the field to the wicketkeeper or to whoever is fielding in that position.
   - Simple: In cricket, to throw the ball back to the player near the stumps.
   - _He returned the ball flat and hard to the stumps._
   - _Good fielders return the ball to the keeper in one smooth motion._

## Noun

3. The act of coming or going back.
   - Simple: The act of coming or going back to a place.
   - _The crowd cheered the champion's return to the stage._
   - _After years abroad, his return to the city felt strange._
5. The gain or loss made on an investment.
   - Simple: The money you gain or lose from an investment.
   - _The fund delivered a steady return over the decade._
   - _A risky stock may promise a large return but lose everything._
6. An item that is sent back, often because of a defect, or the act of sending it back.
   - Simple: An item taken back to a store, or the act of taking it back.
   - _The warehouse handles every return that comes through the door._
   - _Each return must be inspected before a refund is issued._
8. A report of income submitted to the government to determine how much tax is owed.
   - Simple: A form you send to the government showing your income and the tax you owe.
   - _Accountants reviewed each return for errors before submission._
   - _He filed his return online to get a faster refund._
10. A ticket for travel to a destination and back again; a round-trip ticket. *(British)*
   - Simple: A ticket for a trip to a place and back again.
   - _She purchased a return and boarded the morning train._
   - _A return to the coast saved them money over two one-way fares._
13. The data passed back from a called procedure; the value a function gives back to the code that called it.
   - Simple: The value that a function sends back after it runs.
   - _The return of that method is a list of matching files._
   - _If the return is null, the program shows an error._
16. A formal account or report of an action performed or facts gathered, especially, in the plural, a set of tabulated statistics prepared for general information.
   - Simple: A formal report of facts or numbers, like the results of a count or a vote.
   - _Officials counted the returns late into the night._
   - _He submitted a detailed return of the year's expenses._
17. An answer; a reply.
   - Simple: An answer or reply given to someone.
19. In American football, the act of running the ball back toward the opponents' goal after catching a kick or punt, or after an interception or fumble recovery.
   - Simple: The play where a player catches a kicked ball and runs it back toward the other team.
   - _The rookie's return covered nearly fifty yards before he was tackled._
   - _A muffed return handed the other team excellent field position._
20. A control character that ends a line of text, moving the cursor back to the beginning of the line.
   - Simple: A hidden character that ends a line of text and sends the cursor back to the start.
   - _The old printer needed a return at the end of every line, or the text ran together._
   - _Some text editors show a small symbol wherever a return breaks the line._
21. The act of handing control back to the procedure that called a function.
   - Simple: The moment when a function gives control back to the program that called it.
   - _An early return skips the rest of the function's code._
   - _The function's return triggers cleanup of its local variables._
24. A fielder's throw in cricket aimed at the wicketkeeper or at a teammate stationed at the wicket.
   - Simple: In cricket, a throw from a fielder back to the player near the stumps.
   - _The fielder's flat return reached the keeper on the bounce._
   - _A fast, flat return from the deep reached the wicketkeeper in time for a run out._

## Other meanings

- (verb) In card games, to lead a card of the suit that one's partner led earlier.
- (verb) To give a thrust or cut immediately after parrying an opponent's sword-thrust.
- (verb) To go back the way one came, or withdraw.
- (verb) To turn something about so that it faces the other way.
- (noun) A pipe that carries water or other fluid back to the boiler or central plant, the counterpart of the flow pipe that sends it out.
- (noun) A passage in a mine through which stale air from the working face travels toward the exit.
- (noun) A short side section joined at a right angle to a desk, usually set a little lower than the main top.
- (noun) A part of a building, wall or molding that turns off in another direction, usually at a right angle, especially the shorter of the two sides.

## Origin

Medieval Latin retornare ("to turn back"), made of re- ("back") and tornare ("to turn"), gave Old French retourner and Anglo-Norman returner, and Middle English returnen came from them.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/return (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).