Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - return

 I. verb  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ~er, from re- + turner, tourner to turn — more at turn  Date: 14th century  intransitive verb  1.  a. to go back or come back again ~ home  b. to go back in thought, practice, or condition ; revert soon ~ed to her old habit  2. to pass back to an earlier possessor  3. reply, retort  transitive verb  1.  a. to give (as an official account) to a superior  b. British to elect (a candidate) as attested by official report or ~s  c. to bring back (as a writ or verdict) to an office or tribunal  2.  a. to bring, send, or put back to a former or proper place ~ the gun to its holster  b. to restore to a former or to a normal state  3.  a. to send back ; visit — usually used with on or upon  b. obsolete retort  4. to bring in (as profit) ; yield  5.  a. to give or perform in ~ ; repay ~ a compliment; also to respond to in kind ~ed his calls  b. to give back to the owner  c. reflect ~ an echo  6. to cause (as a wall) to continue in a different direction (as at a right angle)  7. to lead (a specified suit or specified card of a suit) in response to a partner's earlier lead  8.  a. to hit back (a ball or shuttlecock)  b. to run with (a football) after a change of possession (as by a punt or a fumble)  Synonyms: see reciprocate  • ~er noun  II. noun  Date: 14th century  1.  a. the act of coming back to or from a place or condition  b. a regular or frequent ~ing ; recurrence  2.  a.  (1) the delivery of a legal order (as a writ) to the proper officer or court  (2) an endorsed certificate stating an official's action in the execution of such an order  (3) the sending back of a commission with the certificate of the commissioners  b. an account or formal report  c.  (1) a report of the results of balloting — usually used in plural election ~s  (2) an official declaration of the election of a candidate  (3) chiefly British election  d.  (1) a formal statement on a required legal form showing taxable income, allowable deductions and exemptions, and the computation of the tax due  (2) a list of taxable property  3.  a. the continuation usually at a right angle of the face or of a member of a building or of a molding or group of moldings  b. a means for conveying something (as water) back to its starting point  4.  a. a quantity of goods, consignment, or cargo coming back in exchange for goods sent out as a mercantile venture  b. the value of or profit from such venture  c.  (1) the profit from labor, investment, or business ; yield  (2) plural results  d. the rate of profit in a process of production per unit of cost  5.  a. the act of ~ing something to a former place, condition, or ownership ; restitution the ~ of stolen goods  b. something ~ed; especially plural unsold publications ~ed to the publisher for cash or credit  6.  a. something given in repayment or reciprocation a ~ on their years of hard work  b. answer, retort  7. an answering play: as  a. a lead in a suit previously led by one's partner in a card game  b. the action or an instance of ~ing a ball (as in football or tennis)  8. chiefly British round-trip  III. adjective  Date: 1676  1.  a. having or formed by a change of direction a ~ facade  b. doubled on itself a ~ flue  2.  a. played, delivered, or given in ~ ~ fire from the enemy  b. taking place for the second time a ~ meeting for the two champions  3. used or taken on ~ing the ~ road  4. ~ing or permitting ~ a ~ valve  5. of, relating to, or causing a ~ to a place or condition use the prestamped ~ envelope