- return
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 coming/going back; giving sth backADJECTIVE▪ complete, full▪
a full return to health
▪ gradual▪ eventual▪his eventual return to Budapest
▪ long-awaited▪The championships made their long-awaited return to the West Coast.
▪ imminent▪ unexpected▪the unexpected return of her long-lost niece
▪ timely▪Will he be saved by the timely return of Simone?
▪ early▪ welcome▪This is a welcome return to form for one of the best athletes in the sport.
▪ possible, potential▪He does not rule out a possible return to the concert world.
▪ fast, prompt, quick, rapid, speedy, swift▪The new treatment means patients can expect a shorter hospital stay and a faster return to work.
▪ brief▪ safe▪They offered up a prayer of thanks for her safe return.
▪ triumphant▪She made a triumphant return to Broadway earlier this year.
▪ successful▪He made a successful return to the game after several years of retirement.
▪This race announces the successful return of Johnson, who has been out of the international scene for almost two years.
▪ emotional, happy, nostalgic▪The photos were taken during his nostalgic return to Redwood Creek.
▪ dramatic▪ miraculous▪Today, the whole village celebrates Elizabeth's miraculous return.
VERB + RETURN▪ make▪Shevchenko made an emotional return to his former team.
▪ mark▪The victory marked Williams's return to top form.
▪ herald, signal▪The takeover heralded a return to a strong central administration.
▪ await, wait for▪ anticipate, expect▪The cooperative anticipates a return to profitability later in the year.
▪ announce▪ greet (esp. BrE)▪The smell of cooking greeted his return home.
▪ welcome▪Thousands will welcome the return of this national treasure.
▪ celebrate▪ facilitate▪The organization facilitates the return of refugees and displaced persons.
▪ delay▪ request▪ demand▪He demanded the return of his money.
▪ advocate, support▪a cult whose members advocated a return to traditional living
▪ seek, want▪He continued to seek the return of his property.
▪ call for▪The UN continued to call for a return to civilian rule.
RETURN + NOUN▪ date▪ flight, journey, trip▪When is your return flight?
▪ ticket (= for the return trip)▪I lost my return ticket and was stranded in Thailand.
▪ address▪ envelope▪ call, phone call▪She hoped she'd get a return call soon.
▪ email, messagePREPOSITION▪ in return (for)▪She gave them all the help she could, and asked for nothing in return.
▪ on sb's return▪He promised to visit us on his return.
▪ return from▪The date of their return from India is a month from now.
▪ return to▪Jones is hoping for an early return to racing after her injury.
PHRASES▪ by return (BrE), by return mail (AmE), by return of post (BrE)▪All orders will be sent by return of post/by return mail.
2 (also returns) profitADJECTIVE▪ attractive, big, excellent, good, great, high, maximum, substantial▪ increasing▪increasing returns from educational investment
▪ acceptable (esp. BrE), adequate, decent, fair, healthy, modest, positive, reasonable, solid▪ disappointing▪ low, marginal, meagre/meager, negative, poor, small▪ decreasing, diminishing▪the law of diminishing returns
▪ 10%, 30%, etc.▪ total▪ average▪an average return of 16%
▪ economic, financial▪They are counting on a big financial return.
▪ overall▪ investment▪They're looking for new sources of investment return.
▪ immediate▪ fast, quick▪The software had to demonstrate a fast return.
▪ early▪Venture capitalists currently see few prospects of early returns.
▪ future▪ long-term, short-term▪ annual, monthly, etc.▪ expected, likely, possible, potential, projected▪ guaranteed▪The plan provides a guaranteed return.
▪ gross (esp. BrE)▪ after-tax, net▪ actual, real▪future real returns from global equities
▪ tax-free (esp. BrE)▪ risk-adjusted (AmE)▪ amended (AmE)▪ annualized (esp. AmE)▪ shareholder▪ stock (AmE)▪ excess (AmE)VERB + RETURN▪ achieve, bring, earn, get, make, receive▪You should get a good return on this investment.
▪ average▪The group has averaged returns of 3.8% a year over the past five years.
▪ boost, enhance, improve, increase, maximize▪to maximize returns to shareholders
▪ calculate▪ expect, forecast, predict▪She expects a 100% return within 18 months.
▪ look for, seek▪investors seeking better returns in an era of low inflation
▪ deliver, generate, give (sb), offer (sb), produce, provide, realize, show, yield▪Gold shares could realize returns of 15% per annum.
▪The venture yielded a net return of £15 million.
▪ ensure, guarantee▪The employer guaranteed a certain return on retirement investment.
▪ represent▪These figures represent a return of 8.5% per annum.
RETURN + VERB▪ increase▪ declineRETURN + NOUN▪ rate (esp. AmE)▪We're getting a high return rate.
PREPOSITION▪ return from▪Their goal is to improve economic returns from irrigation.
▪ return on▪the return on capital/investment/savings
PHRASES▪ a rate of return▪We're getting a high rate of return.
3 (BrE) ticket to travel to a place and back again ⇨ See also ↑round tripADJECTIVE▪ day, period▪ business-class, economy, first-class, standard, tourist-classRETURN + NOUN▪ ticket▪ flight, journey{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verbADVERB▪ recently▪ shortly▪ promptly▪See that the documents are returned promptly, please.
▪ immediately, instantly▪His headache returned instantly.
▪ quickly▪She quickly returned to the car and sped off.
▪ slowly▪My strength was slowly returning to me.
▪ suddenly▪ gradually▪ eventually, finally▪ subsequently▪The patient subsequently returned for surgery.
▪ periodically▪Her symptoms returned periodically.
▪ frequently▪ repeatedly▪His conversation returns repeatedly to the same subjects.
▪ briefly▪Let me return briefly to this question.
▪ safely▪Our aircraft all returned safely to their bases.
▪ gladly, happily▪Kevin gladly returned her hug.
▪ reluctantly▪Charlie reluctantly returned to his seat.
▪ triumphantly▪Ali returned triumphantly to boxing in 1970.
▪ unexpectedly▪We locked the door in case Mary returned unexpectedly.
▪ voluntarily▪ forcibly▪The asylum seekers are to be forcibly returned to their home countries.
▪ directly▪I will have to ask that you return directly to your houses.
▪ homeVERB + RETURN▪ be due to▪She is due to return to school in a week.
▪ be expected to, be likely to, be set to, look set to (BrE)▪ be allowed to▪ choose to, decide to, expect to, hope to, intend to, opt to, plan to, vote to, want to, wish to, yearn to▪ can't wait to▪I couldn't wait to return from my travels.
▪ agree to, promise to▪ prepare to▪She was preparing to return to El Salvador.
▪ offer to▪I offered to return his Christmas gift to me.
▪ fail to▪Suspicions were aroused when he failed to return to work on Monday morning.
▪ not bother to▪He hadn't bothered to return her messages.
▪ refuse to▪He refused to return our money.
▪ forget to▪Don't forget to return his handkerchief.
▪ force sb to▪Lack of cash forced her to return to work.
▪ threaten to▪the tears that threatened to return
PREPOSITION▪ from▪She had recently returned from Paris.
▪ to▪She never returned the book to me.
Return is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑appetite, ↑boat, ↑colour, ↑confidence, ↑echo, ↑exile, ↑expedition, ↑investment, ↑pain, ↑refugee, ↑salmon, ↑sanity, ↑sight, ↑soldier, ↑strength, ↑train, ↑veteran, ↑visionReturn is used with these nouns as the object: ↑acquittal, ↑affection, ↑ball, ↑book, ↑call, ↑compliment, ↑coupon, ↑email, ↑embrace, ↑favour, ↑feeling, ↑fire, ↑form, ↑gaze, ↑greeting, ↑grin, ↑hospitality, ↑immigrant, ↑indictment, ↑kiss, ↑look, ↑love, ↑party, ↑profit, ↑questionnaire, ↑refugee, ↑salute, ↑slip, ↑smile, ↑survey, ↑verdict, ↑wave
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
