return
re·turn/ɹɪˈtɝn/verb, noun
return is spelled R-E-T-U-R-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables (re·turn). It appears 155 times per million words in written English, the 657th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, return means “To come or go back (to a place or person)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in return?
| Letters | 6: R-E-T-U-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: re·turn |
| In writing | 155 times per million words; the 657th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is return?
Return appears 155 times per million words in written English, the 657th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce return?
- UK /ɹɪˈtɜːn/
- US /ɹɪˈtɝn/
- /ɹəˈtɚːn/
Return has 2 syllables, split re·turn in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-return.ogg, En-us-return.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with return?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as return from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹn/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: turner.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of return
- returns present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- returning participle, present
- returned participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does return mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To come or go back (to a place or person).
Although the birds fly north for the summer, they return here in winter.
- 2
To go back in thought, narration, or argument.
To return to my story[…]
- 3
To recur; to come again.
Winter returns every year.
- 4
obsoleteTo turn back, retreat.
- 5
obsoleteTo turn (something) round.
- 6
To place or put back something where it had been.
Please return your hands to your lap.
- 7
To give something back to its original holder or owner.
You should return the library book within one month.
- 8
To give in requital or recompense; to requite.
noun
- 1
The act of returning.
I expect the house to be spotless upon my return.
- 2
A return ticket.
Do you want a one-way or a return?
- 3
An item that is returned, e.g. due to a defect.
- 4
An answer.
a return to one’s question
- 5
An account, or formal report, of an action performed, of a duty discharged, of facts or statistics, etc.; especially, in the plural, a set of tabulated statistics prepared for general information.
election returns; a return of the amount of goods produced or sold
- 6
Gain or loss from an investment.
It yielded a return of 5%.
- 7
A report of income submitted to a government for purposes of specifying exact tax payment amounts; a tax return.
Hand in your return within 90 days of the end of the tax year.
- 8
A carriage return character.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Return in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | revenir, retourner, s’en retourner , rebrousser chemin , rendre , retour |
| German | zurückkehren, zurückkommen , zurückgeben , Rückkehr , Rückgabe , Bericht |
| Portuguese | voltar, retornar, regressar , retorno, volta, regresso |
| Spanish | retornar, regresar, volver , devolver , regreso, retorno |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does return come from?
From Middle English returnen, retornen, from Anglo-Norman returner, from Old French retourner, retorner, from Medieval Latin retornare (“to turn back”), from re- + tornare (“to turn”). By surface analysis, re- + turn. Compare beturn. Displaced native Old English eftċierran, literally "eft-char".
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).