Return \Re*turn"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Returned; p. pr. & vb. n. Returning.]

[OE. returnen, retournen, F. retourner; pref. re- re- + tourner to turn. See Turn.]

1. To turn back; to go or come again to the same place or condition. ``Return to your father's house.'' --Chaucer.

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.'' --Fielding.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)