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Returned vs Back - What's the difference?

returned | back |

As a verb returned

is (return).

As a noun back is

a small stream or brook.

returned

English

Verb

(head)
  • (return)
  • Statistics

    *

    return

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To come or go back (to a place or person).
  • :
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.}}
  • *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=19 citation , passage=As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help, and he stripped off his tunic at once.}}
  • To go back in thought, narration, or argument.
  • :
  • (obsolete) To turn back, retreat.
  • *, Bk.V:
  • *:‘I suppose here is none woll be glad to returne – and as for me,’ seyde Sir Cador, ‘I had lever dye this day that onys to turne my bak.’
  • (obsolete) To turn (something) round.
  • *, Bk.X, Ch.xiij:
  • *:Whan Kyng Marke harde hym sey that worde, he returned his horse and abode by hym.
  • To put (place) something back where it had been.
  • :
  • To give something back to its original holder or owner.
  • :
  • To take something back to a retailer for a refund.
  • :
  • To give in requital or recompense; to requite.
  • *Bible, 1 Kings ii.44
  • *:The Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head.
  • (tennis) To bat the ball back over the net in response to a serve.
  • :
  • (card games) To play a card as a result of another player's lead.
  • :
  • (cricket) To throw a ball back to the wicket-keeper (or a fielder at that position) from somewhere in the field.
  • To say in reply; to respond.
  • :to return''' an answer;  to '''return thanks
  • *1897 , (Henry James), (What Maisie Knew)
  • *:‘Ah my good friend, I do look out!’ the young man returned while Maisie helped herself afresh to bread and butter.
  • (computing) To relinquish control to the calling procedure.
  • (computing) To pass (data) back to the calling procedure.
  • :
  • (dated) To retort; to throw back.
  • :to return the lie
  • *Dryden
  • *:If you are a malicious reader, you return upon me, that I affect to be thought more impartial than I am.
  • To report, or bring back and make known.
  • :to return the result of an election
  • *Bible, Exodus xix.8
  • *:And all the people answered together,and Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.
  • (by extension, UK) To elect according to the official report of the election officers.
  • Derived terms

    (Terms derived from the verb "return") * return to form

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of returning.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2 , passage=I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.}}
  • A return ticket.
  • An item that is returned, e.g. due to a defect, or the act of returning it.
  • An answer.
  • a return to one's question
  • 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
  • Gain or loss from an investment.
  • * Jeremy Taylor
  • The fruit from many days of recreation is very little; but from these few hours we spend in prayer, the return is great.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 22, author=Sam Sheringham, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= Liverpool 0-1 West Brom , passage=Liverpool have now won only five of their 17 home league games this season. It is a poor return for a team of Liverpool's pedigree and resources but, once again, Kenny Dalglish's team were the instigators of their own downfall as chance after chance went begging.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The rise of smart beta , passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return' of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of ' return .}}
  • (taxation, finance): A report of income submitted to a government for purposes of specifying exact tax payment amounts. A tax return.
  • (computing) A carriage return character.
  • (computing) The act of relinquishing control to the calling procedure.
  • (computing) A return value: the data passed back from a called procedure.
  • A short perpendicular extension of a desk, usually slightly lower.
  • (American football) Catching a ball after a punt and running it back towards the opposing team.
  • (cricket) A throw from a fielder to the wicket-keeper or to another fielder at the wicket.
  • The continuation in a different direction, most often at a right angle, of a building, face of a building, or any member, such as a moulding; applied to the shorter in contradistinction to the longer.
  • A facade of sixty feet east and west has a return of twenty feet north and south.

    Synonyms

    * (l)

    Derived terms

    (Terms derived from the noun "return") * abnormal return * absolute return * active return * amended return * annual return * carriage return * day return * dollar return * exante return * excess return * expected return * exponential return * false return * hard return * in return * information return * joint return * many happy returns * market return * mean return * non-return * point of no return * rate of return * real return * relative return * return address * return crease * return day * return extrasystole * return flow * return key * return of capital * return on assests * return on capital emlpoyed * return on equity * return on invested capital * return on investment * return on net assets * return on sales * return stroke * return ticket * return to form * Return To Zero * return address * risk-adjsuted return * risk-free return * risk-return tradeoff * safety-net return/safety net return * soft return * subperiod return * tax return * total return * venous return

    Statistics

    *

    back

    English

    (wikipedia back)

    Etymology 1

    (etyl) bak, from (etyl) 'bending'. The adverb represents an aphetic form of (aback).

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (not comparable) Near the rear.
  • * , chapter=19
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.}}
  • (not comparable) Not current.
  • (not comparable) Far from the main area.
  • In arrear; overdue.
  • back rent
  • Moving or operating backward.
  • back action
  • (comparable, phonetics) Produced in the back of the mouth.
  • Synonyms
    * (near the rear) rear * (not current) former, previous * (far from the main area) remote
    Antonyms
    * (near the rear) front * (not current) current * (far from the main area) main

    Adverb

    (further)
  • (not comparable) To or in a previous condition or place.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2 , passage=We drove back to the office with some concern on my part at the prospect of so large a case. Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The new masters and commanders , passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.}}
  • Away from the front or from an edge.
  • * , chapter=1
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path […]. It twisted and turned,
  • In a manner that impedes.
  • In a reciprocal manner.
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.
  • :
  • *
  • *:It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the other hedge, it was quite easy to fancy it the verge of the prairie with the backwoods close by.
  • #The spine and associated tissues.
  • #:
  • # Large and attractive buttocks.
  • #*{{quote-book, 2002, (George Pelecanos), title= Right as Rain: A Novel, isbn=0446610798, page=123
  • , passage= He got his hand on her behind and caressed her firm, ample flesh.
  • #(lb) The part of a piece of clothing which covers the back.
  • #:
  • #The backrest, the part of a piece of furniture which receives the human back.
  • #:
  • #(lb) That part of the body that bears clothing.
  • #*{{quote-book, 1604, (William Shakespeare),
  • , passage=Do thou but think / What 'tis to cram a maw or clothe a back / From such a filthy vice}}
  • That which is farthest away from the front.
  • :
  • #The side of any object which is opposite the front or useful side.
  • #:
  • ##The edge of a book which is bound.
  • ##:
  • ##(lb) The inside margin of a page.
  • ##*, page=472, edition=1965 Ayer Publishing ed., title= A Dictionary of the Art of Printing, isbn=0833731289
  • , passage=Convenience and custom have familiarised us to the printed page being a little higher than the middle of the leaf, and to its having a little more margin at the fore edge than in the back .}}
  • ##The side of a blade opposite the side used for cutting.
  • ##:
  • #The reverse side; the side that is not normally seen.
  • #:
  • #Area behind, such as the backyard of a house.
  • #:
  • #The part of something that goes last.
  • #:
  • #(lb) In some team sports, a position behind most players on the team.
  • #:
  • #*{{quote-news, year=2010, date=December 28, author=Kevin Darlin, work=BBC
  • , title= West Brom 1-3 Blackburn , passage=
  • (lb) Upper part of a natural object which is considered to resemble an animal's back.
  • :
  • A support or resource in reserve.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • *:This project / Should have a back or second, that might hold, / If this should blast in proof.
  • (lb) The keel and keelson of a ship.
  • :
  • (lb) The roof of a horizontal underground passage.
  • *{{quote-book, 1911, Robert Bruce Brinsmade, title= Mining Without Timber, page=161
  • , passage=The stope is kept full of broken ore, sufficient only being drawn to leave a working space between the floor of broken ore and the back of the stope.}}
  • Effort, usually physical.
  • :
  • A non-alcoholic drink (often water or a soft drink), to go with hard liquor or a cocktail.
  • :
  • Among leather dealers, one of the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
  • *1848 , Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Maine Reports (volume 6, page 397)
  • *:.
  • Synonyms
    * (side opposite the visible side) reverse * (rear of the body) rear, backside
    Antonyms
    * (side opposite the front or useful side) front * (that which is farthest away from the front) front
    Coordinate terms
    * (non-alcoholic drink)
    Derived terms
    * (non-alcoholic drink)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To go in the reverse direction.
  • * , chapter=1
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=Thinks I to myself, “Sol, you're run off your course again. This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’
  • To support.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=June 9, author=Owen Phillips, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= Euro 2012: Netherlands 0-1 Denmark , passage=And Netherlands, backed by a typically noisy and colourful travelling support, started the second period in blistering fashion and could have had four goals within 10 minutes}}
  • (nautical, of the wind) To change direction contrary to the normal pattern; that is, to shift anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere, or clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
  • (nautical, of a square sail) To brace the yards so that the wind presses on the front of the sail, to slow the ship.
  • (nautical, of an anchor) To lay out a second, smaller anchor to provide additional holding power.
  • (UK, of a hunting dog) To stand still behind another dog which has pointed.
  • To push or force backwards.
  • to back oxen
  • (obsolete) To get upon the back of; to mount.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • I will back him [a horse] straight.
  • (obsolete) To place or seat upon the back.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • Great Jupiter, upon his eagle backed , / Appeared to me.
  • To make a back for; to furnish with a back.
  • to back books
  • To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • a gardenwith a vineyard backed
  • * (Thomas Henry Huxley) (1825-1895)
  • the chalk cliffs which back the beach
  • *
  • *:So this was my future home, I thought!Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
  • To write upon the back of, possibly as an endorsement.
  • to back''' a letter;  to '''back a note or legal document
  • (legal, of a justice of the peace) To sign or endorse (a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender).
  • To row backward with (oars).
  • to back the oars
    Antonyms
    * veer

    Derived terms

    * answer back * backache * back and forth * back away * backbeat, back beat * back-bench, backbench * back-bencher, backbencher * back benches, back-benches, backbenches * backbite * backbiter * backbiting * back-blocks * back boiler * backbone * backbreaker * backbreaking, back-breaking * back burner * backchat * back-cloth * backcomb, back-comb * back cover * back-crawl * backdate, back-date * back door * back down * back-draught * backdrop * back end * backer * backfill * backfire * back-formation * backgammon * back garden * background * backhand * backhanded, back-handed * backhander, back-hander * backing * back into * back issue * back kitchen * backlash * back-light * back-lighting * backlist * backlog * backlot * backmost * backness * back number, back-number * back of beyond * back off * back office * back of house * back of one's hand * back on to * back out * backpack, back-pack * back page * back pass * back passage * backpay, back pay * back payment * back-pedal * back-projection * backrest * back road * backroom * back row * backscatter * backscratcher * backscratching * back scrubber * back-seat driver * backshift * back-shop * backside * back sight * back-slang * backslapping, back-slapping * backslash * backslide * backsliding * backspace * backspin * back-stabbing * backstage * backstair, backstairs * backstay * backstitch * backstop * back straight * back street * back-stroke, backstroke * backswing * back to back, back-to-back * back to basics * back to front * back to nature * backtrack * back up * backup, back-up * back vowel * backward * backwards * backwash * backwater * backwoods * back yard * bad back * barback * bareback * be glad to see the back of * behind someone's back * break the back of * call back * cashback * get back at * get off someone's back * get someone's back up * give back * go behind someone's back * go to hell and back * have back * have one's back to the wall * hogback, Hog's Back * hollow back * horseback * hunchback * in back of * know like the back of one's hand * left back * look like the back end of a bus * offensive back * off the back foot * pat on the back * phone back * put on the back burner * put one's back into * put someone's back up * redback * right back * ring back * rod for one's back * running back * saddle back * set back * setback * shagger's back * stab in the back * stand back * swayback * take a back seat * there and back

    Etymology 2

    (etyl) bac.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc.
  • A ferryboat.