return

verb

• 1 [no object] come or go back to a place or person:he returned to America in the late autumn
• (return to) go back to (a particular situation):I’ll be glad when things return to normal
• (return to) divert one’s attention back to:he returned to his newspaper
• (especially of a feeling) reoccur after a period of absence:her appetite had returned
• Golf play the last nine holes in a round of eighteen holes:McAllister went out in 43 and returned in 32

• 2 [with object] give, put, or send (something) back to a place or person:complete the application form and return it to this address
• feel, say, or do (the same feeling, action, etc.) in response:she returned his kiss
• (in tennis and other sports) hit or send (the ball) back to an opponent: the aim is to make the other side unable to return the ball
• American Football intercept (a pass, kick, or fumble by the opposing team) and run upfield with the ball: they had six passes intercepted—five were returned for touchdowns
• (of a judge or jury) state or present (a decision or verdict) in response to a formal request: the jury returned the unanimous guilty verdict
• Bridge lead (a card, especially one of a suit led earlier by one’s partner) after taking a trick: he returned a Diamond won by his partner who now played the 10 of Spades

• 3 [with object] yield or make (a profit):the company returned a profit of £4.3 million

• 4 [with object] (of an electorate) elect (a person or party) to office:the city of Glasgow returned eleven Labour MPs

• 5 Architecture continue (a wall) in a changed direction, especially at right angles.

noun

• 1an act of coming or going back to a place or activity:he celebrated his safe return from the war [as modifier]:a return flight
• [in singular] an act of going back to an earlier state or situation:the designer advocated a return to elegance
• [mass noun] the action of returning something:the tape is ready to despatch to you on return of the documents
• (in tennis and other sports) a stroke played in response to a serve or other stroke by one’s opponent.
• a thing which has been given or sent back, especially an unwanted ticket for a sporting event or play: it might be worth checking with the box office for returns
• (also return ticket) British a ticket which allows someone to travel to a place and back again: a return ticket to the airport
• an electrical conductor bringing a current back to its source.
• (also return match or game) a second contest between the same opponents: he scored his first Test try in the return at Avignon

• 2 (also returns) a profit from an investment:product areas are being developed to produce maximum returns
• [mass noun] a good rate of return.

• 3an official report or statement submitted in response to a formal demand:census returns
• a returning officer’s announcement of an election result: falsification of the election return
• Law an endorsement or report by a court officer or sheriff on a writ.

• 4 [mass noun] election to office:I campaigned for the return of forty-four MPs

• 5 (also carriage return) a mechanism or key on a typewriter that returns the carriage to a fixed position at the start of a new line.
• (also return key) a key pressed on a computer keyboard to simulate a carriage return in a word-processing program, or to indicate the end of a command or data string.

• 6 Architecture a part receding from the line of the front, for example the side of a house or of a window opening.