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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, regress, turn back
    
4. Go back to something earlier
   "This returns to a previous remark of his";
   - hark back, come back, recall
    
5. Bring back to the point of departure
   - take back, bring back
    
6. Return in kind
   "return a compliment"; "return her love"
    
7. (football) make a return
   "return a kickback"
    
8. Respond in a quick, clever or humorous way
   - retort, come back, repay, riposte, rejoin
    
9. Be restored
   "Her old vigour returned";
   - come back
    
10. Pay back
    - refund, repay, give back
     
11. Pass down
    "return a verdict";
    - render, deliver
     
12. Elect again
    - reelect
     
13. Be inherited by
    "The land returned to the family";
    - fall, pass, devolve
     
14. Give or supply
    "The estate returns some revenue for the family";
    - render, yield, give, generate
     
15. Submit (a report, etc.) to someone in authority
    "Gov. Chris Christie has returned a bill to the New Jersey Assembly on increased gun regulations"

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. The occurrence of a change in direction back in the opposite direction
   - coming back
    
4. Getting something back again
   "upon the return of the book to its rightful owner the child was given a tongue lashing";
   - restitution, restoration, regaining
    
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)
   "it brought a sharp return from the teacher";
   - rejoinder, retort, riposte, replication, comeback, counter
    
8. 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
   - return key, enter key, enter
    
9. A reciprocal group action
   "in return we gave them as good as we got";
   - paying back, getting even
    
10. A tennis stroke that sends the ball back to the other player
    "he won the point on a cross-court return"
     
11. (American football) the act of running back the ball after a kickoff, punt, interception or fumble
     
12. The act of someone appearing again
    "his return as Hamlet has been long awaited";
    - reappearance
     
13. [Brit] A ticket to a place and back (usually over the same route)
    - round-trip ticket [N. Amer], return ticket [Brit]
     
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";
    - tax return, income tax return

Derived forms: returning, returned, returns

Type of: acquisition, answer, appearance, arrival, bring, carry, change by reversal, 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