2 N‑SING [with poss] Your return is your arrival back at a place where you had been before. □ Ryle explained the reason for his sudden return to London.
3 VERB If you return something that you have borrowed or taken, you give it back or put it back. □ [V n] I enjoyed the book and said so when I returned it. ● N‑SING Return is also a noun. □ [+ of ] The main demand of the Indians is for the return of one-and-a-half-million acres of forest to their communities.
4 VERB If you return something somewhere, you put it back where it was. □ [V n + to ] He returned the notebook to his jacket.
5 VERB If you return someone's action, you do the same thing to them as they have just done to you. If you return someone's feeling, you feel the same way towards them as they feel towards you. □ [V n] Back at the station the Chief Inspector returned the call.
6 VERB If a feeling or situation returns , it comes back or happens again after a period when it was not present. □ [V ] Calm is returning to the country. ● N‑SING Return is also a noun. □ It was like the return of his youth.
7 VERB If you return to a state that you were in before, you start being in that state again. □ [V + to ] Life has improved and returned to normal. ● N‑SING Return is also a noun. □ [+ to ] He made an uneventful return to normal health.
8 VERB If you return to a subject that you have mentioned before, you begin talking about it again. □ [V + to ] The power of the Church is one theme all these writers return to.
9 VERB If you return to an activity that you were doing before, you start doing it again. □ [V + to ] He is 52, young enough to return to politics if he wishes to do so. ● N‑SING Return is also a noun. □ [+ to ] He has not ruled out the shock possibility of a return to football.
10 VERB When a judge or jury returns a verdict, they announce whether they think the person on trial is guilty or not. □ [V n] They returned a verdict of not guilty.
11 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A return ticket is a ticket for a journey from one place to another and then back again. [mainly BRIT ] □ He bought a return ticket and boarded the next train for home. ● N‑COUNT Return is also a noun. □ That's enough Airmiles for two returns to Paris, Amsterdam or Brussels.
12 → see also day return in AM, usually use round trip 13 ADJ [ADJ n] The return trip or journey is the part of a journey that takes you back to where you started from. □ Buy an extra ticket for the return trip.
14 N‑COUNT The return on an investment is the profit that you get from it. [BUSINESS ] □ Profits have picked up this year but the return on capital remains tiny.
15 N‑COUNT A tax return is an official form that you fill in with details about your income and personal situation, so that the income tax you owe can be calculated. □ He was convicted of filing false income tax returns. □ Anyone with complications in their tax affairs is asked to fill in a return.
16 → see also tax return
17 CONVENTION When it is someone's birthday, people sometimes say ' Many happy returns ' to them as a way of greeting them. [FORMULAE ]
18 PHRASE If you do something in return for what someone else has done for you, you do it because they did that thing for you. □ The deal offers an increase in policy value in return for giving up guarantees.
19 PHRASE If you say that you have reached the point of no return , you mean that you now have to continue with what you are doing and it is too late to stop. □ The release of Mr Nelson Mandela marked the point of no return in South Africa's movement away from apartheid.
20 to return fire → see fire ➋ SYNONYMS return VERB
1
go back: I went back to bed.
retreat: The young nurse pulled a face at the Matron's retreating figure.
turn back: They were very nearly forced to turn back.
3
put back: Put it back in the freezer.
replace: Replace the caps on the bottles.
restore: We expect to restore the power supply within two hours.
give back: I gave the textbook back to him.
re|turn|able /r I tɜː r nəb ə l/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Returnable containers are intended to be taken back to the place they came from so that they can be used again. □ All beverages must be sold in returnable containers.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If something such as a sum of money or a document is returnable , it will eventually be given back to the person who provided it. □ Landlords can charge a returnable deposit.
re|turnee /r I tɜː r niː / (returnees ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] A returnee is a person who returns to the country where they were born, usually after they have been away for a long time. □ The number of returnees could go as high as half a million.
re|turn|er /r I tɜː r nə r / (returners ) N‑COUNT A returner is someone who returns to work after a period when they did not work, especially a woman who returns after having children. [BRIT ] □ Many returners are far better at working with people than they were when they were younger.