comeback
Americannoun
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a return to a former higher rank, popularity, position, prosperity, etc..
The ex-champion kept trying to make a comeback.
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a clever or effective retort; rejoinder; riposte.
That was a great comeback the comedian made to the hecklers.
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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.
noun
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a return to a former position, status, etc
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a return or response, esp recriminatory
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a quick reply; retort
verb
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to return
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to become fashionable again
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to reply after a period of consideration
I'll come back to you on that next week
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to argue back; retort
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(of something forgotten) to return to someone's memory
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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!”
Vocabulary lists containing comeback
The Hate U Give
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Olympics Vocabulary for Champions
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All American Boys
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By setting “BTS the Comeback Live: Arirang” at 8 p.m. local time, this allows viewers worldwide to keep the March 21 appointment as they tune in at odd hours.
From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026
Appeared in the March 10, 2026, print edition as 'Monarchy Makes a Comeback in Iran'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
Speaking of real estate, did you see the recent Wall Street Journal article “The Hamptons Market Is Making an Epic Comeback External link”? Well, guess who’s buying?
From Barron's • Dec. 5, 2025
It was also the group’s final stop on its “American Comeback Tour.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2025
He would don his Elvis Comeback Special black jumpsuit pajamas, crawl into his heart-shaped bed, and pretend that Ladybird was beside him, as if they were a couple on an American sitcom.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
