comeback

1 of 2

noun

come·​back ˈkəm-ˌbak How to pronounce comeback (audio)
1
a
: a sharp or witty reply : retort
b
: a cause for complaint
2
: a return to a former position or condition (as of success or prosperity) : recovery, revival
… staging his ultimate comeback from self-imposed exile in Belgium.Howard Mandel
These days, the cocktail—the true cocktail—is said to be making a comeback.Frank H. Prial

come back

2 of 2

verb

came back; come back; coming back; comes back

intransitive verb

1
: to return to life or vitality
2
: to return to memory
it's all coming back to me now
3
: reply, retort
when questioned, he came back with a vehement denial
4
a
: to regain a former favorable condition or position
b
: to recover from a deficit in a contest or competition
… it was the first time in NHL history that a team was down by three goals inside the final five minutes and came back to win a game.Mike Harrington

Examples of comeback in a Sentence

Noun The species was nearly extinct but is now making a comeback. Short skirts were out of fashion for many years, but now they're making a comeback. The team was trailing after the first half, but they made a comeback and won in the second half. The team mounted a comeback in the second half of the season. Verb she's slowly coming back after being in a coma the American bald eagle was once nearly extinct but has come back strong
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Missing Markkanen due to a right quad contusion, Utah’s comeback run was spearheaded by 29 points from Keyonte George. Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2024 Wolverines could be poised for a comeback in California. Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 The Pilots, who play Gonzaga in the WCC title game on Tuesday, used a pair of 10-point runs to complete the comeback. Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 That night at the 2023 Oscars marked a huge career comeback for Fraser after having been out of the spotlight for years. Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 10 Mar. 2024 Their penchant for city life now means that many of us can witness their incredible comeback story from our own backyards. Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Mar. 2024 But the exposed thong trend has seen a comeback in recent years, with the likes of Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa, Hailey Bieber, Alexa Demie, and Kim Kardashian all giving it a whirl. Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 8 Mar. 2024 After a reunion tour in 2012, Refused returned two years later with bigger plans, going on to release their 2015 comeback record Freedom and 2019’s War Music. Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 5 Mar. 2024 This is why our comeback and the documentary was so important, especially for me. Tracy Kawalik, SPIN, 5 Mar. 2024
Verb
While the only way up to space is by rocket, there are two ways to come back down: via a winged vehicle, like the space shuttle or Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, or a capsule, like Apollo, Soyuz, and Blue Origin's New Shepard. Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 14 Mar. 2024 Many characters don’t make it out of Seattle Grace Mercy Death in one piece—and those that do aren’t always looking to come back. TIME, 14 Mar. 2024 The new trailer shows Eric come back from the dead to get his bloody revenge. Jaden Thompson, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 The underwater camera had broken, and after one dive, the data had come back presumably corrupted. Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Never giving up, Shadow gave Jackie a couple hours on the nest, but this time came back with a bigger stick and landed it right across her back. Li Cohen, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2024 Typically, people with recurrent glioma tumors could expect to survive about six months after their cancers came back, Brown said. Brenda Goodman, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 Now, with centrists coming back to power after October’s elections, the conditions were right for Mr. Czajkowski’s return. Lenora Chu, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Mar. 2024 The inspector came back to the Marriott for a same day re-inspection, which the restaurant passed. David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'comeback.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1889, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of comeback was in 1860

Dictionary Entries Near comeback

Cite this Entry

“Comeback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comeback. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

comeback

noun
come·​back ˈkəm-ˌbak How to pronounce comeback (audio)
1
2
: a return to a former position or condition (as of health, power, popularity, or prosperity) : recovery

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