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return |
5 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Return \Re*turn"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Returned}; p. pr & vb n. {Returning}.] [OE. returnen, retournen F. retourner; pref. re- re- + tourner to turn. See {Turn}.] 1. To turn back to go or come again to the same place or condition. ``Return to your father's house.'' --Chaucer. On their embattled ranks the waves return. --Milton. If they returned out of bondage, it must be into a state of freedom. --Locke. Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. --Gen. iii. 19. 2. To come back or begin again after an interval, regular or irregular; to appear again With the year Seasons return; but not me returns Day or the sweet approach of even or morn. --Milton. 3. To speak in answer; to reply; to respond. He said and thus the queen of heaven returned. --Pope. 4. To revert; to pass back into possession. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. --1Kings xii. 26. 5. To go back in thought, narration, or argument. ``But to return to my story.'' --Fielding. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Re-turn \Re-turn"\, v. t. & i. To turn again From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Return \Re*turn"\, v. t. 1. To bring carry, send or turn, back as to return a borrowed book, or a hired horse. Both fled attonce, ne ever back returned eye. --Spenser. 2. To repay; as to return borrowed money. 3. To give in requital or recompense; to requite. The Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head. --1 Kings ii 44. 4. To give back in reply; as to return an answer; to return thanks. 5. To retort; to throw back as to return the lie. If you are a malicious reader, you return upon me that I affect to be thought more impartial than I am --Dryden. 6. To report, or bring back and make known And all the people answered together, . . . and Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. --Ex. xix. 8. 7. To render, as an account, usually an official account, to a superior; to report officially by a list or statement; as to return a list of stores, of killed or wounded; to return the result of an election. 8. Hence to elect according to the official report of the election officers. [Eng.] 9. To bring or send back to a tribunal, or to an office, with a certificate of what has been done as to return a writ. 10. To convey into official custody, or to a general depository. Instead of a ship, he should levy money, and return the same to the treasurer for his majesty's use --Clarendon. 11. (Tennis) To bat (the ball) back over the net. 12. (Card Playing) To lead in response to the lead of one's partner; as to return a trump; to return a diamond for a club. {To return a lead} (Card Playing), to lead the same suit led by one's partner. Syn: To restore; requite; repay; recompense; render; remit; report. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Return \Re*turn"\, n. 1. The act of returning (intransitive), or coming back to the same place or condition; as the return of one long absent; the return of health; the return of the seasons, or of an anniversary. At the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. --1 Kings xx 22. His personal return was most required and necessary. --Shak. 2. The act of returning (transitive), or sending back to the same place or condition; restitution; repayment; requital; retribution; as the return of anything borrowed, as a book or money; a good return in tennis. You made my liberty your late request: Is no return due from a grateful breast? --Dryden. 3. That which is returned. Specifically: a A payment; a remittance; a requital. I do expect return Of thrice three times the value of this bond. --Shak. b An answer; as a return to one's question. c An account, or formal report, of an action performed, of a duty discharged, of facts or statistics, and the like as election returns; a return of the amount of goods produced or sold; especially, in the plural, a set of tabulated statistics prepared for general information. d The profit on or advantage received from labor, or an investment, undertaking, adventure, etc The fruit from many days of recreation is very little; but from these few hours we spend in prayer, the return is great. --Jer. Taylor. 4. (Arch.) The continuation in a different direction, most often at a right angle, of a building, face of a building, or any member, as a molding or mold; -- applied to the shorter in contradistinction to the longer; thus a facade of sixty feet east and west has a return of twenty feet north and south. 5. (Law) a The rendering back or delivery of writ, precept, or execution, to the proper officer or court. b The certificate of an officer stating what he has done in execution of a writ, precept, etc., indorsed on the document. c The sending back of a commission with the certificate of the commissioners. d A day in bank. See {Return day}, below. --Blackstone. 6. (Mil. & Naval) An official account, report, or statement, rendered to the commander or other superior officer; as the return of men fit for duty; the return of the number of the sick; the return of provisions, etc 7. pl (Fort. & Mining) The turnings and windings of a trench or mine. {Return ball}, a ball held by an elastic string so that it returns to the hand from which it is thrown, -- used as a plaything. {Return bend}, a pipe fitting for connecting the contiguous ends of two nearly parallel pipes lying alongside or one above another. {Return day} (Law), the day when the defendant is to appear in court, and the sheriff is to return the writ and his proceedings. {Return flue}, in a steam boiler, a flue which conducts flame or gases of combustion in a direction contrary to their previous movement in another flue. {Return pipe} (Steam Heating), a pipe by which water of condensation from a heater or radiator is conveyed back toward the boiler. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: return n 1: 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" [syn: {tax return}, {income tax return}] 2: a coming to or returning home; "on the eve of his return to Australia we gave him a goodbye party" [syn: {homecoming}] 3: the occurrence of a change in direction back in the opposite direction [syn: {coming back}] 4: getting something back again "upon the restitution of the book to its rightful owner the child was given a tongue lashing" [syn: {restitution}, {restoration}, {regaining}] 5: the act of returning to a prior location; "they set out on their return to the base camp" 6: the income arising from land or other property; "the average return was about 5%" [syn: {issue}, {proceeds}, {take}, {takings}, {yield}, {payoff}] 7: happening again (especially at regular intervals); "the return of spring" [syn: {recurrence}] 8: a reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one); "it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher" [syn: {rejoinder}, {retort}, {riposte}, {comeback}] 9: the key on electric typewriters that causes a carriage return and a line feed [syn: {return key}] 10: a reciprocal group action "in return we gave them as good as we got" [syn: {paying back}, {getting even}] 11: a tennis stroke that returns the ball to the other player; "he won the point on a cross-court return" 12: the act of running back the football after a kickoff or punt or interception or fumble v 1: come back to place where one has been before or return to a previous activity [syn: {go back}, {get back}, {come back}] 2: give back [syn: {render}] 3: go back to a previous state; "We reverted to the old rules" [syn: {revert}, {regress}, {turn back}] 4: go back to something earlier; "This harks back to a previous remark of his" [syn: {hark back}, {come back}, {recall}] 5: bring back to the point of departure [syn: {take back}, {bring back}] 6: return in kind "return a compliment"; "return her love" 7: make a return, as of a punt or a kickback, in football 8: answer back [syn: {retort}, {come back}, {repay}, {riposte}, {rejoin}] 9: "Her old vigor returned" [syn: {come back}, {be restored}] 10: pay back "Please refund me my money" [syn: {refund}, {repay}, {give back}] 11: as of a verdict, by a jury [syn: {render}, {deliver}] 12: elect again [syn: {reelect}] 13: be inherited by "The estate fell to my sister"; "The land returned to the family"; The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead" [syn: {fall}, {pass}, {devolve}] 14: return to a previous position; in mathematics: "The point returned to the interior of the figure" 15: give or supply; "The cow brings in 5 liters of milk"; "This year's crop yielded 1,000 bushels of corn"; "The cow won't give much milk" [syn: {render}, {yield}, {give}, {generate}] 16: submit (a report, etc.) to someone in authority; "submit a bill to a legislative body"
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