return address
21
1.8
- noun
- /rɪˈtɜrn əˈdrɛs/
:
dirección del remitente
- Without a return address, the letter could not be sent back to the sender.
- return address on an envelope
- return address on a package
- return address label
Examples
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I won't use my last name or return address.
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I got a letter with no return address.
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But there is nothing, no house at her return address.
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What does the return address say?
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No return address, no note.
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"Roman," I say, "you put your name in care of me as the return address."
Fiction book (1996) -
When he turned it over, looking for a return address, he saw that on the back there was more:
Fiction book (1996) -
Our intelligence section makes a habit of recording the return addresses.
-
The mail arrived around eleven, and Amy handed me an envelope with no return address.
Fiction book (1991) -
We received a note from Mandy with an Atlanta postmark, but no return address.
Fiction book (1996)
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the sender's address to which mail should be returned' is directly and compositionally derived from 'return' (to send back) + 'address' (place/contact details). This noun-noun compound follows a common and cross-linguistically transparent pattern (e.g. French 'adresse de retour'), so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The noun return address is the sender's address written on a letter or parcel so the post office can return it if delivery fails. That's why it means the address to which an item should be 'returned' when it cannot be delivered.