1. Go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
   "return to your native land"; "the professor returned to his teaching position after serving as Dean"
    
2. Give back
   "return money";
   - render
    
3. Go back to a previous state
   "We returned to the old rules";
   - revert, retrovert [rare], regress, turn back
    
4. Bring back to the point of departure
   "Please return the book to the library";
   - take back, bring back
    
5. Go back to something earlier
   "This returns to a previous remark of his";
   - hark back, come back, recall
    
6. Pay back
   "He returned the loan with interest";
   - refund, repay, give back
    
7. Give or supply
   "The estate returns some revenue for the family";
   - render, yield, give, generate
    
8. Submit (a report, etc.) to someone in authority
   "Gov. Chris Christie has returned a bill to the New Jersey Assembly on increased gun regulations"
    
9. Return in kind
   "return a compliment"; "return her love"
    
10. Respond in a quick, clever or humorous way
    "She returned with a witty comeback to his insult";
    - retort, come back, riposte, rejoin
     
11. (football) make a return
    "return a kickback"
     
12. Elect again
    "The voters returned the incumbent to office";
    - reelect, re-elect
     
13. Be inherited by
    "The land returned to the family";
    - fall, pass, devolve
     
14. Be restored
    "Her old vigour returned";
    - come back
     
15. Pass down
    "return a verdict";
    - render, deliver

1. The act of going back to a prior location
   "they set out on their return to the base camp"
    
2. A coming to or returning home
   "on his return from Australia we gave him a welcoming party";
   - homecoming
    
3. Getting something back again
   "upon the return of the book to its rightful owner the child was given a tongue lashing";
   - restitution, restoration, regaining
    
4. The occurrence of a change in direction back in the opposite direction
   "The return of the boomerang surprised the novice thrower";
   - coming back
    
5. The income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
   "the average return was about 5%";
   - issue, take, takings, proceeds, yield, payoff
    
6. Happening again (especially at regular intervals)
   "the return of spring";
   - recurrence, reoccurrence
    
7. A quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
   "Her clever return left him speechless";
   - rejoinder, retort, riposte, comeback, counter
    
8. A tennis stroke that sends the ball back to the other player
   "he won the point on a cross-court return"
    
9. (American football) the act of running back the ball after a kickoff, punt, interception or fumble
   "The rookie made an impressive 80-yard return for a touchdown"
    
10. The act of someone appearing again
    "his return as Hamlet has been long awaited";
    - reappearance
     
11. The key on a computer keyboard that starts a new line when writing text; in other contexts the key usually causes a form or window to perform a default function, e.g. accept the data that has just been input
    "She pressed the return key to submit her online application";
    - return key, enter key, enter
     
12. [Brit] A ticket to a place and back (usually over the same route)
    "He purchased a return ticket to Paris for his vacation";
    - round-trip ticket [N. Amer], return ticket [Brit]
     
13. A reciprocal group action
    "in return we gave them as good as we got";
    - paying back, getting even
     
14. Document giving the tax collector information about the taxpayer's tax liability
    "his gross income was enough that he had to file a tax return"; "She filed her income tax return before the April deadline";
    - tax return, income tax return

Derived forms: returned, returns, returning

Type of: acquisition, answer, appearance, arrival, bring, carry, change hands, change owners, communicate, convey, create, denote, elect, give, go, group action, income, instrument, key, legal document, legal instrument, locomote, make, motion, move, movement, official document, pass, pass along, pass on, pay, produce, put across, reappear, reciprocate, re-emerge, refer, repeat, repetition, reply, respond, response, reverse, run, running, running game, running play, submit, take, tennis shot, tennis stroke, ticket, transport, travel, turn, turning

Part of: lawn tennis, tennis

Encyclopedia: Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation