never to return
idiom
—used to say that someone never went back to a place
She left home never to return.
Examples of never to return in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Their hits got banished from the radio, never to return until now.
—
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2024
At a hearing a few years earlier, a case had fallen apart when a woman walked off the witness stand in the middle of testifying, never to return.
—Gina Barton, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2024
Within four months, Matt’s bipolar cycling had resolved, never to return.
—David Baszucki, Baltimore Sun, 9 July 2024
Sometimes students would leave at the end of the day, never to return.
—Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 23 June 2024
For reasons revealed late in the novel, her home life deteriorated significantly in her teens, leading her to pick a distant college, never to return.
—Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 June 2024
With the exception of local colleges that draw students from across the area, the city’s Arab population — a prewar majority — has mostly fled, or been expelled since 1948, never to return, as part of what Palestinians call the Nakba.
—Damien Cave Amit Elkayam, New York Times, 23 May 2024
The three women hide out in the small Spanish town that Gala’s mother fled 50 years ago, vowing never to return.
—Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2024
Sheldon doesn't look up from his book as his father walks out the kitchen door into the (heavenly bright) sunlight, never to return.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2024
At a hearing a few years earlier, a case had fallen apart when a woman walked off the witness stand in the middle of testifying, never to return.
—Gina Barton, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2024
Within four months, Matt’s bipolar cycling had resolved, never to return.
—David Baszucki, Baltimore Sun, 9 July 2024
Sometimes students would leave at the end of the day, never to return.
—Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 23 June 2024
For reasons revealed late in the novel, her home life deteriorated significantly in her teens, leading her to pick a distant college, never to return.
—Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 June 2024
With the exception of local colleges that draw students from across the area, the city’s Arab population — a prewar majority — has mostly fled, or been expelled since 1948, never to return, as part of what Palestinians call the Nakba.
—Damien Cave Amit Elkayam, New York Times, 23 May 2024
The three women hide out in the small Spanish town that Gala’s mother fled 50 years ago, vowing never to return.
—Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2024
Sheldon doesn't look up from his book as his father walks out the kitchen door into the (heavenly bright) sunlight, never to return.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024
Dictionary Entries Near never to return
Cite this Entry
“Never to return.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/never%20to%20return. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share