comeback

1 of 2

noun

come·​back ˈkəm-ˌbak How to pronounce comeback (audio)
Synonyms of comeback
1
a
: a sharp or witty reply : retort
b
: a cause for complaint
2
: a return to a former position or condition (as of success or prosperity) : recovery, revival
… staging his ultimate comeback from self-imposed exile in Belgium.—Howard Mandel
These days, the cocktail—the true cocktail—is said to be making a comeback.—Frank H. Prial

come back

2 of 2

verb

came back; come back; coming back; comes back

intransitive verb

1
: to return to life or vitality
2
: to return to memory
It's all coming back to me now.
3
: reply, retort
When questioned, he came back with a vehement denial.
4
a
: to regain a former favorable condition or position
b
: to recover from a deficit in a contest or competition
… it was the first time in NHL history that a team was down by three goals inside the final five minutes and came back to win a game.—Mike Harrington

Synonyms of comeback

Relevance

Noun

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of comeback in a Sentence

Noun The species was nearly extinct but is now making a comeback. Short skirts were out of fashion for many years, but now they're making a comeback. The team was trailing after the first half, but they made a comeback and won in the second half. The team mounted a comeback in the second half of the season. Verb she's slowly coming back after being in a coma the American bald eagle was once nearly extinct but has come back strong
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
Filip Hronek scored a power-play goal with 11 seconds to go in overtime to cap a run of four consecutive goals by the Vancouver Canucks, who ended a 10-game losing streak with a 6-5 comeback win over the Ducks on Tuesday night. — Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026 Well, on Monday, Overshown put those doubts to rest by tying for the team lead with six tackles and recording a game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter to thwart a Philadelphia comeback attempt. — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2026
Verb
But research shows that if a vampire bat comes back to its colony hungry, other bats will step in and regurgitate blood to share—a costly but lifesaving sacrifice. — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 28 Oct. 2026 Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton’s past is coming back to haunt her this October in more ways than one. — Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for comeback

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1889, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of comeback was in 1860

Rhymes for comeback

See All Rhymes for comeback

Browse Nearby Words

come away from
comeback
come back
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Comeback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comeback. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

comeback

noun
come·​back ˈkəm-ˌbak How to pronounce comeback (audio)
1
: retort entry 2
2
: a return to a former position or condition (as of health, power, popularity, or prosperity) : recovery
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All