[re.turn] vb [ME retournen, fr. MF retourner, fr. re- + tourner to turn--more at turn] vi (14c) 1 a: to go back or come back again "~ home" b: to go back in thought or practice: revert "soon ~ed to her old habit"
2: to pass back to an earlier possessor
3: reply, retort ~ vt 1 a: to give (as an official account) to a superior b Brit: to elect (a candidate) as attested by official report or returns c: to bring back (as a writ or verdict) to an office or tribunal
2. a: to bring, send, or put back to a former or proper place "~ the gun to its holster" b: to restore to a former or to a normal state 3 a: to send back: visit--usu. used with on or upon b obs: retort
4: to bring in (as profit): yield
5. a: to give or perform in return: repay "~ a compliment" b: to give back to the owner c: reflect "~ an echo"
6: to cause (as a wall) to continue in a different direction (as at a right angle) 7: to lead (a specified suit or specified card of a suit) in response to a partner's earlier lead
8. a: to hit back (a ball or shuttlecock) b: to run with (a football) after a change of possession (as by a punt or a fumble) syn see reciprocate -- re.turn.er n
[2]return n (14c) 1 a: the act of coming back to or from a place or condition b: a regular or frequent returning: recurrence
2. a (1): the delivery of a legal order (as a writ) to the proper officer or court (2): an endorsed certificate stating an official's action in the execution of such an order (3): the sending back of a commission with the certificate of the commissioners b: an account or formal report c (1): a report of the results of balloting--usu. used in pl. "election ~s" (2): an official declaration of the election of a candidate (3) chiefly Brit: election d (1): a formal statement on a required legal form showing taxable income, allowable deductions and exemptions, and the computation of the tax due (2): a list of taxable property 3 a: the continuation usu. at a right angle of the face or of a member of a building or of a molding or group of moldings b: a turn, bend, or winding back (as in a rod, stream, or trench) c: a means for conveying something (as water) back to its starting point
4. a: a quantity of goods, consignment, or cargo coming back in exchange for goods sent out as a mercantile venture b: the value of or profit from such venture c (1): the profit from labor, investment, or business: yield (2) pl: results d: the rate of profit in a process of production per unit of cost
5. a: the act of returning something to a former place, condition, or ownership: restitution b: something returned; esp, pl: unsold publications returned to the publisher for cash or credit
6. a: something given in repayment or reciprocation b: answer, retort 7: an answering play: as a: a lead in a suit previously led by one's partner in a card game b: the action or an instance of returning a ball (as in football or tennis) -- in return : in compensation or repayment [3]return adj (1676) 1 a: having or formed by a change of direction "a ~ facade" b: doubled on itself "a ~ flue"
2: played, delivered, or given in return: taking place for the second time "a ~ meeting for the two champions"
3: used or taken on returning "the ~ road"
4: returning or permitting return "a ~ valve"
5: of, relating to, or causing a return to a place or condition