1
general::
return
to go back or come back to a place where you were before. Return sounds more formal than go back or come back , and is more commonly used in written English:
• She returned to the hotel hoping to find a message. • Alastair returned from the office late that night. • On Friday, I returned home around six o'clock.
go back
to go to the place where you were before, or to the place where you usually live:
• It’s cold out here – shall we go back inside? • When are you going back to Japan?
go home
to go to your home again, or to the country where you were born, after you have been away from it:
• I did a bit of shopping and then went home. • Are you going home to Hong Kong when the course finishes?
come back
to come to the place where you are again, after going away from it:
• I’ll be away for two days – coming back on Thursday night. • He’s just come back from a vacation in Miami.
get back
to arrive somewhere where you were before, especially your home or the place where you are staying:
• We got back at about 9 o'clock. • She couldn’t wait to get back to London.
turn back
to turn around and go back in the direction you came from:
• We took the wrong road and had to turn back. • He ordered the soldiers to turn back and march south.
Longman-Thesaurus
2
general::
verb ADV. recently | shortly | eventually | safely Our aircraft all returned safely to their bases. | voluntarily | forcibly The asylum seekers are to be forcibly returned to their home countries. | home VERB + RETURN be due to She is due to return to school in a fortnight. | be expected to, be likely to, be/look set to | be allowed to | decide to, expect to, hope to, intend to, plan to, want to, wish to | agree to, promise to | fail to Suspicions were aroused when he failed to return to work on Monday morning. | force sb to Lack of cash forced her to return to work. PREP. from She had recently returned from Paris. | to She never returned the book to me., noun coming/going back; giving sth back ADJ. complete, full a full return to health | gradual | imminent | brief | emotional, happy | dramatic VERB + RETURN make Shevchenko made an emotional return to his former club. | mark The victory marked Williams' return to top form. | await, wait for | greet The smell of cooking greeted his return home. | celebrate | delay, put off | demand He demanded the return of his money. | call for, push for, vote for The UN continued to call for a return to civilian rule. RETURN + NOUN address, date PREP. in ~ (for) She gave them all the help she could, and asked for nothing in return. | on sb's ~ He promised to visit us on his return. | ~ from The date of their return from India is a fortnight from now. | ~ to Jones is hoping for an early return to racing after her injury. PHRASES by return (of post) All orders will be dispatched by return of post (= by the next post). (also returns) profit ADJ. attractive, big, excellent, generous, good, high, substantial | acceptable, adequate, decent, fair, healthy, reasonable | inadequate, low, marginal, meagre, poor, small | diminishing the law of diminishing returns | immediate | long-term | annual, monthly, quarterly, etc. | expected, likely, possible, potential, projected | gross, pre-tax | after-tax, net | tax-free VERB + RETURN achieve, get, make, receive You should get a good return on this investment. | boost, enhance, improve, increase, maximize to maximize returns to shareholders | estimate | give (sb), offer (sb), produce, provide, show, yield The venture yielded a net return of £15 million. | represent These figures represent a return of 8.5% per annum. RETURN + VERB increase | decline, decrease PREP. ~ on the return on capital/investment/savings PHRASES a rate of return ticket to travel to a place and back again ADJ. day, period | business class, economy, first-class, standard, tourist class RETURN + NOUN ticket | flight, journey
Oxford Collocations Dictionary