: tending to fly back or capable of flying back: such as
a
of a stopwatch or chronograph
: having a sweep second hand that may be made to fly back to zero
b
of fur, hair, or feathers
: having a tendency to fall back into position when brushed the wrong way
1
: the return to zero of the second hand or the split-second hand of a stopwatch or chronograph
2
: the return of a cathode-ray beam in a television picture tube after it has traced one picture before it traces the next
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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