returns 1 of 2

Definition of returnsnext
present tense third-person singular of return
1
as in restores
to bring, send, or put back to a former or proper place when I'm done reading a book, I always return it to the very shelf I got it from

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2
as in yields
to produce as revenue this technology stock is expected to return a healthy profit

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3
4
as in reverts
to go back to a previous and usually lower state or level vowed to do anything to keep the recovering alcoholic from returning to his dissolute ways

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returns

2 of 2

noun

plural of return

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of returns
Verb
Chicago now returns home to face the third-place San Diego Wave on May 31. Melanie Anzidei, New York Times, 25 May 2026 Which returns us to the choice of dais partner. Gabriel Alin Zainescu, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026 With the season barely halfway through, the coach said that regaining the team’s identity will be just as important as earning points when MLS returns in the summer. Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026 Kansas City’s largest free Memorial Day weekend event returns Sunday at Union Station, featuring a Kansas City Symphony concert and fireworks. Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 24 May 2026 The council’s motion to continue directs staff to incorporate concerns around parking, drainage and privacy as explicit conditions in the loan agreement when the item returns in June. Walker Armstrong, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2026 But Gulf states will notice who left and who returns. Daniel Benaim, Time, 18 May 2026 Thunder All-Star wing Jalen Williams returns from a six-game injury hiatus for this series. Geoff Clark Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026 Finn the Human is voiced by Sasha Knight and John DiMaggio returns as the voice of Jake the Dog. Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 18 May 2026
Noun
Today, capital discipline and consolidation dominate, with larger operators focusing on efficiency and long-term returns. Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026 At some point, the bracket creep is going to overreach into the point of diminishing marginal returns — dulling regular seasons and perhaps ultimately even eventually interest in the postseasons. Kansas City Star, 24 May 2026 After saying goodbye to the rest of his fellow supe fighters after Billy Butcher’s funeral, Mother’s Milk returns home to life with his wife and daughter. Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2026 The returns, however, are not financial. John Vorwald, Robb Report, 24 May 2026 This summer, An Appalachian Summer Festival returns for its 42nd season, kicking off on June 27 and running until August 1. Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 24 May 2026 Paul Ferraro, an economics professor at Johns Hopkins University, said that targeting utility investment returns is a political action, not an economic action. Marc Levy, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2026 Retirees and their advisers can update spending targets every year, based on life changes, investment returns, inflation and other factors. Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 17 May 2026 The film centers on a pickpocket who survives by exploiting the desires of closeted men, until his detached worldview is upended when one of his marks returns seeking closeness rather than settling scores. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for returns
Verb
  • The deal, announced Monday by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, restores program eligibility to 400% of the federal poverty level, reverses restrictions imposed earlier this year by the Florida Department of Health and provides $75 million in funding for the program moving forward.
    Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 26 May 2026
  • Boeing had been caught in the crossfire of the tariff war for two years; a 200-plane order restores visibility to a supply chain that had been paralyzed by uncertainty.
    Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 26 May 2026
Verb
  • Chicken breasts are simmered gently in chicken broth and fresh thyme sprigs, which yields a flavorful fortified stock that's perfect for another use.
    Catherine Jessee, Southern Living, 23 May 2026
  • Real talk, Palmer is one of pop culture’s most incandescent figures, whose natural cadence and sense of self yields an approachably bawdy humor.
    Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 23 May 2026
Verb
  • What’s more, Rick can’t get through to Danny, because the pop star’s brash and aggressive manager (Jack Reynor) refuses to put Rick through, and responds to his claims with threats.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 29 May 2026
  • The staff responds to between 50 and 70 strandings annually, and the typical cause of death is pneumonia, Rust says.
    Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 29 May 2026
Verb
  • There are still times Stokes reverts back to his worst tendencies on the basketball court.
    Lindsay Schnell, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Democrats currently hold a 6-5 edge, and the new map will hold until the process reverts back to a bipartisan redistricting commission after the 2030 Census.
    Julia Mueller, The Hill, 22 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In the same months that OpenAI was building its public support for the Illinois bill, the company was filing legal responses denying its responsibility in wrongful death lawsuits brought by the families of teenagers who died by suicide after extensive interactions with ChatGPT.
    Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
  • Better understanding nuclear fallout All vital pieces of a puzzle that can then be used to help plan emergency responses, cleanup operations, and weapons monitoring.
    Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 24 May 2026
Verb
  • The developer later trimmed the number of homes to 99 and agreed that no building permits will be issued until American Homes 4 Rent pays for and installs a traffic light at nearby Faith and Shearer roads.
    Joe Marusak May 27, Charlotte Observer, 27 May 2026
  • The stadium is being built to make Sacramento a turnkey market for promotion out of the USL, which plays in smaller stadiums of roughly 10,000 fans across the country and pays players a fraction of MLS payrolls.
    Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 27 May 2026
Verb
  • If the interviewer replies that no urgent issues ever come up - take that with a grain of salt.
    Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
  • Abbass plays a housewife named Aida who replies to a casting call for extras to make ends meet.
    Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 14 May 2026
Noun
  • Morales, a behavioral interventionist at Brookhurst Elementary, said there are more questions than answers about the situation unfolding in her hometown.
    Victoria Le, Oc Register, 24 May 2026
  • After years of digging, the answers Soderquist found mean many other Americans will get the chance to admire the picture at the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota.
    Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 24 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Returns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/returns. Accessed 31 May. 2026.

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