in return
330
2.4
- idiom
:
a cambio
- What are you offering in return?
- get in return
- receive in return
- give in return
Little is that is worth in return for such a gift.
- Little is that is worth in return for such a gift.
- Tell me when you give with expectation in return, you lose.
- Did we negotiate with Goldman in return and get stock, get warrants?
- It has a long term decline in return for short term stability, right?
- And I sensed love in return, but also some embarrassment.
- I don't want nothing in return, which is the altruism.
- All I ask in return is connections and knowledge.
- dollars in return for whatever goods they give us.
- And in return, I'd like you to wear my hat.
- We got his daughter the phone back and in return we got this big bottle right here.
- But maybe they can offer to cryopreserve Elon Musk's head in return for him saving a few fish.
- And what they do is they bargain away their freedom in return for access to the British Empire.
- I have no right to expect lenience in return, and so lenience there shall not be.
- But Manny gained so much in return.
- You leave marks behind, however small, and in return, life and travel leaves marks on you.
Examples
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What can I grant you in return?
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We pay high taxes, but we get something in return for ourselves and our families.
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You get to control land, but in return you serve in the army.
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This is what your policy will be in return for our investment.
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What will you ask for in return?
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Did she give you anything for me in return?
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I typically give a lot more to others than I get back in return.
Academic text (2015) -
In return, you will keep the privileges of a wife, and the duties.
-
Through their work, the counselors in return received energy, encouragement, and recognition.
Academic text (2011) -
You get to control land, but in return you serve in the army.
Synonyms
18
4.2
To do the same thing back or give the same type of thing in return
1
6.8
In a way where two people or groups do things for each other
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'as an exchange or as a response' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'in' (indicating state/position) + 'return' (an action given back), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE. This preposition + noun construction expressing reciprocity is common in English and across languages, making the phrase immediately comprehensible rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
In return comes from the simple image of giving something back: if you give a friend a gift and they give one back, that second gift is the return. So, in return means 'as an exchange' or 'as a response'.