The phrase “return to normal” means to go back to the way things were before a change or disruption. It can be used in a variety of contexts, such as:
- After a natural disaster: “The city is slowly returning to normal after the hurricane.”
- After a pandemic: “We hope to return to normal soon after the pandemic is over.”
- After a personal crisis: “It took me a while to return to normal after my divorce.”
- After a change in lifestyle: “I’m still adjusting to my new job, but I’m starting to feel like I’m returning to normal.”
Here are the results of a search in the NOW corpus for:
_VV _II normal .
1 RETURN TO NORMAL. 5413
Slowly things return to normal and life goes on.
2 RETURNED TO NORMAL. 2043
3 RETURNING TO NORMAL. 1721
4 RETURNS TO NORMAL. 1235
5 COMPARED TO NORMAL. 183
6 RESTORED TO NORMAL. 63
7 REVERT TO NORMAL. 49
8 FAHRENHEIT ABOVE NORMAL. 30
9 REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL. 29
10 BROUGHT TO NORMAL. 19
11 COME TO NORMAL. 19
12 REVERTED TO NORMAL. 18
13 GET TO NORMAL. 15
14 REMAINED ABOVE NORMAL. 15
15 LOOKS LIKE NORMAL. 13
- It could mean that something appears to be the same as it usually is. For example, you might say “The weather looks like normal today.” meaning that it is sunny and warm, just like it usually is on this day of the year.
- It could mean that something appears to be healthy or well-functioning. For example, you might say “The patient’s vital signs look like normal,” meaning that their blood pressure, heart rate, and other vital signs are within the normal range.
- It could mean that something appears to be ordinary or unremarkable. For example, you might say “That new restaurant looks like normal,” meaning that it doesn’t seem to be anything special or out of the ordinary.
16 RESUMED TO NORMAL. 13
17 DROPS TO NORMAL. 12
18 FEELS LIKE NORMAL. 12
19 UP FROM NORMAL. 12
20 WORK LIKE NORMAL. 10