comeback

American  

[kuhm-bak] / ˈkʌmˌbæk /

noun

• comebacks
  plural

1. a return to a former higher rank, popularity, position, prosperity, etc..

   The ex-champion kept trying to make a comeback.

2. a clever or effective retort; rejoinder; riposte.

   That was a great comeback the comedian made to the hecklers.

3. Informal. a basis or cause of complaint.

   If you insist on buying these pointed shoes, you'll have no comeback when your toes start to hurt.

---

comeback British  

/ ˈkʌmˌbæk /

noun

1. a return to a former position, status, etc

2. a return or response, esp recriminatory

3. a quick reply; retort

---

verb

1. to return

2. to become fashionable again

3. to reply after a period of consideration

   I'll come back to you on that next week

4. to argue back; retort

5. (of something forgotten) to return to someone's memory

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• comebacks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of comeback

First recorded in 1815–25; noun use of verb phrase come back

Explanation

A comeback is a quick, witty reply. “Your mama” is a lame comeback but a popular one. It's also a return to prominence after a break, like an athlete who retires and then makes a comeback by returning to the sport. If someone insults you, and you say something back that turns the insult around, that's a comeback. Nice job. Another comeback is when someone — especially in entertainment or sports — comes back after being gone. If a popular singer leaves music for a few years and then returns with a hit song, that's a comeback. In the song “Mama Said Knock You Out,” LL Cool J starts by saying, “Don’t call it a comeback, I been here for years!”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

comeback comebacks

Head Chef Amy Alarcon, who developed the Popeyes chicken sandwich that became a viral sensation in 2019, the revamped Whopper is now helping propel a comeback for the chain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

He finished the season at 10-10 with a 3.09 ERA, and if anyone was still wondering about his comeback, he put doubts to rest in 1977.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Nadira Goffe makes the case for a relish comeback.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Up to 8.7 million voters -- a majority of them women -- will decide whether Hichilema's economic reforms deserve another term or whether the opposition can turn widespread discontent into a comeback.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

“It’s a one-way trip from here, Matt. He’s too far into crazy to make a comeback, and he’s becoming our biggest problem.”

From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin

Since injuring his shoulder at the US Open in August, Draper has struggled with bone bruising and pulled out of scheduled comebacks at Wimbledon and the Washington Open this summer.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

He played a starring role in two of the team’s extraordinary late comebacks, scoring the stoppage-time winner in the 3-2 victory over Egypt and tied the game against with a screamer from 20 yards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Australia won to go 2-0 up and while England, invigorated by the recalled Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, threatened the most spectacular of comebacks, it was not to be.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Saturday night was just the final chapter of the most unlikely, unhinged and downright unbelievable playoff run in basketball history—a collection of spectacular streaks and last-second comebacks to cast aside decades of heartbreak.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

He was gloomy now; he didn’t have his usual snappy comebacks.

From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

Related Words

• improvement
• rebound
• resurgence
• return
• revival
• victory
• winning