to return
350
1.9
- verb
- /rɪˈtɜrn/
- Seriously, do you actually think that you can return my serve?
- return phone calls
- return the favor
Examples
-
He smiled at me, and I was happy to return the smile.
-
When you compliment her, she will always return the gesture with a kind word.
-
Thank you for finally returning my call.
-
You do not believe that they will return?
-
-You know, when you didn't return my call, I became rather curious.
-
I've been on the phone for an hour, and no one's returning my calls.
-
Hi, this is Dr Williams returning the call of Jean Worther.
-
Otherwise, please leave a message for our nursing staff or physicians after the beep, and we will return your call as soon as possible.
-
Of the 300 initially sampled, 236 teachers returned the questionnaires, a response rate of 78.7%.
Academic text (1999) -
If someone helps you, it's courteous to return the favor when you can.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To reply to a question or request
∞
1.0
To say or do something as an answer to what someone says
707
2.8
Phone someone who called you earlier
244
2.6
To reply to someone later with information
87
4.1
To reply quickly and strongly to a remark
31
6.2
Do something similar in return when someone helps or is kind to you
15
6.4
To reply quickly and sharply in a clever or angry way
1
6.4
Answer a remark quickly in a clever or sharp way
1
9.0
To reply quickly and sharply in speech or as a counterattack
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
- Formal
5
3.5
Officially send a completed form showing your income and taxes you owe
Compounds
113
3.2
An official paper you send to the tax office that shows your income to work out tax
- Specialized
35
3.5
How much money you gain from putting money into something, shown as a percent
22
1.8
The sender's details on an envelope that show where to send it back if not delivered
- Formal
3
5.6
A tax return that a married couple files together to report their combined income and deductions
- Specialized
2
6.4
A tax form sent to correct information filed earlier with the tax office
- Formal
1
6.8
A document sent to the tax office that reports financial transactions without calculating tax owed
- Specialized
1
5.3
A percent showing how well a company makes profit from the money put into it
- Specialized
1
7.0
A form to pay tax you expect to owe when not enough tax is taken from your pay
- Specialized
1
7.2
A change that grows or falls faster over time by a fixed percent
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Return can also mean to reply or give back; think of it as 'turning' an action back at someone, so to return a favor or feeling is to give something back or respond.