revert

revert to

1. To return to a prior condition, state, behavior, or practice. The entire city had reverted to candlelight after the power outage continued for its fifth straight day. The intense trauma has caused the victim to revert to a fragile, childlike state.
2. To become or return to the possession of the legal proprietor. The land will revert to the banks if we aren't able to keep up with the mortgage payments. As stipulated in his will, Montgomery's estate reverts to his eldest son.
See also: revert

revert to type

To return to usual behavior or form after a temporary change, typically an improvement. Jenny has been very gracious since she joined our department, but I'm afraid she may revert to type once the newness wears off. The administration had made strides in transparency, but with how evasive it's been on this latest issue, it looks like it is reverting to type.
See also: revert, type
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

revert to someone or something

 
1. to return to some type of person or a former state. After he was out of prison, he reverted to a life of crime. She quickly reverted to her childhood dialect after a few weeks at home.
2. to become the property of someone, a group, or an institution. At the end of ten years, this house and the land it sits on reverts to the youngest living child. Then the property reverts to the state.
See also: revert
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

revert to ˈtype

(formal) return to the way you would expect somebody to behave when you remember their family, sex, work, history, etc: The team had two very unexpected wins, but have now reverted to type and lost the last two games.
See also: revert, type
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

revert to

v.
1. To return to some former condition, practice, subject, or belief: When the computerized accounting system failed, we reverted to using paper spreadsheets.
2. To return to some former owner or the heirs of the former owner. Used of money or property: At the end of 100 years, all privately held land in the park will revert to the government.
See also: revert
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • revert to
  • prior
  • prior to
  • in the midst of (something)
  • in the midst of something/of doing something
  • I wouldn't put it past (someone)
  • I wouldn't put it past somebody
  • wouldn't put it past someone
  • hardball
  • practice
References in periodicals archive
It added that at 3.99 per cent the new rate was below the average charged by the major lenders, although it is higher than the 3.5 per cent that borrowers at Halifax, part of the same group, revert to.
Lender scraps ultralow mortgage rate
To find out what might cause sperm cells to revert, Matunis's research team genetically altered the flies so that both cells became sperm, reducing the stem cell population in the testes to nothing.
Johns Hopkins researchers report successfully creating stem cells from developing sperm from fruit fly
A CHRISTIAN who reverted to Islam has founded a support group to help newcomers to the faith tackle negative stereotypes about terrorism.
New Muslims get support as they switch faith; Ex-Christian founds project to help those new to Islam
Decide favourite outfit has been seen too many times and revert to original.
Just an hour to get out?
Otherwise, the viewer will revert to the historically programmed sense of fear for this sacred art.
Cherishing African heritage: preservers and scholars discuss the historic cultural values and contemporary significance
TELECOMWORLDWIRE-8 August 2005-O2 reverts to original MMS delivery(C)1994-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com
O2 reverts to original MMS delivery
The 35-percent top tax rate, along with the other brackets, will revert to pre-2001 levels unless the law is changed.
Federal tax update
The idea was to see if the virus would partly revert to more drug-sensitive strains during the treatment interruption, in the hope that the drugs would work better later when they were restarted.
Treatment interruption: study found poor result for highly treated, highly resistant patients
In the second scenario, a taxpayer donated a patent to a university, subject to the condition that a certain university employee had to remain employed there for the patent's remaining life; otherwise, the patent would revert to the donor.
Charitable contributions of patents
Both pressure and amine concentration affects the tendency for the vaporized amine to revert back to a liquid.
Establishing new rules for coldbox coremaking: when establishing a method for vent and blow tube placement in coreboxes, foundries must maximize productivity and minimize amine consumption
The appellants attempted to argue the development sits on top of the city's aquifer and requested the zoning revert to rural.
Proposed reload centre clears planning hurdles. (Sault Ste. Marie)
After 20 years of law enforcement field and range experience, it's been my observation people revert to prior training protocol when under stress.
Editor's note. (Cop Talk)
If you download a corrupted file, you can use GoBack's Event List to review your system's activity to help you find useful times to which you can revert your hard disk.
A Crash Helmet
Senior officials want to exploit the vacuum left by the closure of bank branches by encouraging churches to revert to their role as centres of the community.
Money changer to made welcome (in rural churches)
The council announced at the Lloyd's Market Forum, a regular monthly meeting of practitioners, that the role of the chairman will from 2001 revert to its pre-1992 status as a part-time job now that the bulk of the issues surrounding the reinvention of the market have been sorted out, following its near-collapse in the 1990s.
Max Taylor to Leave Lloyd's