come ‧ back /ˈkʌmbæk/ BrE AmE noun [countable usually singular]
1 . make/stage a comeback if a person, activity, style etc makes a comeback, they become popular again after being unpopular for a long time:
The miniskirt made a comeback in the late 1980s.
2 . a quick reply that is often clever, funny, and insulting SYN retort :
I couldn’t think of a good comeback.
3 . a way of getting payment or a reward for something wrong or unfair that has been done to you:
Check your contract carefully, or you may have no comeback if something goes wrong.
⇨ come back at ↑ come 1
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THESAURUS
▪ answer something you say when someone asks you a question or speaks to you:
I asked if he wanted to come, but I didn’t get an answer.
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If you’re asking me for money, the answer’s no!
▪ reply an answer. Used especially in written English to report what someone said:
She asked how he felt, and received the reply, ‘Awful!’
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‘Finished now?’ ‘No,' came the reply.
▪ response an answer that clearly shows your reaction to a question, suggestion etc:
Wagner’s responses showed that he had thought carefully about the issues.
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‘Sure. Why not?’ was his response to most of Billie’s suggestions.
▪ retort written an angry answer given when someone has annoyed you or criticized you:
Isabelle began an angry retort and then stopped herself.
▪ comeback a quick answer that is clever, funny, or rude:
He walked out before I could think of a snappy comeback.
▪ riposte formal a quick and clever answer:
Anna produced the perfect riposte.
▪ rejoinder formal a quick answer, especially a clever or rude one:
If he confronts them, he’ll run the risk of a sharp rejoinder.