What is the synonym for saying I will get back to you or I come back to you?
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1Those are the phrases we typically use; there really isn't a single-word synonym. My Indian colleagues say "I'll revert (or revert back) on that shortly", but I personally loathe that usage.– Dan BronAug 23, 2014 at 14:16
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1"I'll return to you" on that, "I'll follow-up shortly", "Let me take that away" (in a meeting, implying but not explicitly stating you'll get back), etc. But be warned: creative language sounds like creatives language, and it more likely to get noticed (and judged) than common phrases which, even when repeated frequently, rarely draw attention to themselves.– Dan BronAug 23, 2014 at 14:29
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2I (We) will revisit -- as it is fashionable today.– KrisAug 23, 2014 at 14:33
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1@Kris, in American professional lingo, "revisit" means "table for now, investigate again at a later time", it's a polite way way of saying "take it outside, boys" (i.e. "let's not talk about that now"). If you asked me a question and I responded "I'll get back to you", there's an implied promise that I'll return with a solution or answer; no such promise is implied by "revisit". To the contrary, if replied to your question with "I'll revisit that", I would be conveying "I don't know what to do with that, and I may look at it later, but I definitely don't want to talk or think about it now".– Dan BronAug 23, 2014 at 15:07
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1Maybe a more concise way of putting it is: when someone says "let's revisit that later" in a meeting, it almost always means "right now, that's just a distraction".– Dan BronAug 23, 2014 at 15:11
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3 Answers
Without any context, the single word that comes to my mind is follow-up, which means to continue something later that has already been started.
I will be sure to follow-up soon.
If you want to postpone answering a question until later during a discussion (like in a presentation or a meeting), you can use circle back.
That's a good point, but let's circle back to that later.
If you want to answer the question after the meeting is over, you can request to take it offline.
Good question, but it is beyond the scope of this discussion. Let's take it offline.
If you are answering the phone, but are currently busy, you can first ask them to hold, or if you know it will be a while, you can promise to call back.
I am busy with someone else right now, can you hold for a bit?
I am in the middle of something important, may I call you back?
"Reply" or "Respond" are single word equivalents for the first phrase you cite, "get back to you".
"Come back to you" is not (at least in my experience) a common idiom, and in its more literal sense, could be replaced by the single word "return".
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1In American business jargon, "get back to you" connotes with a solution or at least a firm answer, whereas "reply" is much weaker, merely a response. If you asked me a question, I could reply with "I'll get back to you on that", which means, later, I'm going to follow-up with "yes", "no", or "42".– Dan BronAug 23, 2014 at 15:01
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Dan, sometimes it means that. In my own experience, "I'll get back to you" sometimes means, "I'm too busy to deal with that right now. I expect I'll also be too busy to deal with that this afternoon, and tomorrow and the next day aren't looking good, either." Given the context provided by the OP, I'm sticking by my answer.– brasshatAug 23, 2014 at 15:21
For an action item such as you'd use in an email response, I prefer follow up with no hyphen. "Stay tuned for more information as we will follow up in the coming months." Follow-up (with hyphen) is more common as a noun (as in, "The Times published a follow-up on that sewage treatment story you liked").
I too have noticed the "revert" and "revert back" usage and while I don't like it either, I admire it's efficiency. I hear it from colleagues in Asia.
