Re·turn v. i. [imp. & p. p. Returned p. pr. & vb. n. Returning.]
1. To turn back; to go or come again to the same place or condition. “Return to your father's house.”
On their embattled ranks the waves return. --Milton.
If they returned out of bondage, it must be into a state of freedom. --Locke.
Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. --Gen. iii. 19.
2. To come back, or begin again, after an interval, regular or irregular; to appear again.
With the year
Seasons return; but not me returns
Day or the sweet approach of even or morn. --Milton.
3. To speak in answer; to reply; to respond.
He said, and thus the queen of heaven returned. --Pope.
4. To revert; to pass back into possession.
And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. --1Kings xii. 26.
5. To go back in thought, narration, or argument. “But to return to my story.”
returning
adj 1: tending to return to an earlier state [syn: reverting]
2: tending to be turned back [syn: returning(a), reversive]