repay
Americanverb (used with object)
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repays,
present (3rd person singular)
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repaid,
past participle, past
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repaying
present participle
verb (used without object)
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repays,
present (3rd person singular)
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repaid,
past participle, past
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repaying
present participle
verb
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to pay back (money) to (a person); refund or reimburse
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to make a return for (something) by way of compensation
to repay kindness
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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repayabilitynoun
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repaymentnoun
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nonrepayableadjective
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nonrepayingadjective
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repayableadjective
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unrepaidadjective
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unrepayableadjective
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well-repaidadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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repaysimple
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repayssimple
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have repaidperfect
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has repaidperfect
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am repayingprogressive
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are repayingprogressive
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is repayingprogressive
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have been repayingperfect progressive
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has been repayingperfect progressive
Past
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repaidsimple
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had repaidperfect
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was repayingprogressive
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were repayingprogressive
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had been repayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of repay
From the Middle French word repaier, dating back to 1520–30. See re-, pay 1
Explanation
When you give someone money that you owe them, you repay them. A bank may loan you money to buy a new car, but you'll have to repay the money, plus interest. You might repay a bank loan, or repay your brother the dollar you borrowed last week. You can also repay things other than money: "How will I ever repay your kindness and support?" Repay comes from the French repaier, with its "back" prefix re- and payer, "to pay."
Vocabulary lists containing repay
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
To repay his former employer and his creditors, he emptied his retirement account and sold his house, his car and the cards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
"If someone earning an MP's salary still isn't likely to repay their student loan in full, what chance does someone on a much lower income have?"
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Stocks his firm bought with borrowed money sustained heavy losses in a broader AI selloff, forcing him to cut positions and raise cash to repay its lenders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The junk spread rises along with the risk of recession, when issuers of high-yield bonds become less likely to be able to repay, and it falls when the risk of an economic downturn is lower.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Although she worked a full-time job while in custody, most of her income went to repay the diversion program, not the underlying fine that put her in custody in the first place.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
She repays about £150 a month and said it feels like "a constant burden that is always hanging over your head".
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Though the diary entry concedes that Mansfield was “so intelligent & inscrutable that she repays friendship,” the two women wouldn’t become friends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
The money is typically issued within three days, and the platform repays itself by withholding those wages from the user’s next paycheck.
From Salon ● Jan. 17, 2025
On payday, the user repays the money out of their wages.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
If the bonus is repaid after it has already been included in taxable wages, the tax consequences can be more complicated.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
He was unleashed against PSG - and quickly repaid the faith shown by boss Unai Emery.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
At Carnival, CFO David Bernstein made a commitment to investors: He wouldn’t leave until the company repaid its pandemic-era debt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
He repaid the charges after a formal investigation, according to a 2006 article in the Inner-West Weekly, an Australian newspaper.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Morgan Stanley was making a bet not on the entire pool of subprime home loans but on the few loans in the pool least likely to be repaid.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Music has given me so much that this album is my way of repaying music for all the blessings it’s given me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
But falling behind on repaying your debt doesn’t automatically mean that declaring bankruptcy is right for your household.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
"I'm repaying in instalments, but the debt is not going down."
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
Since a pandemic-era pause on student-loan repayments ended in 2023, the federal government has been pushing people to start repaying their loans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
“I’m repaying you. You saved my life. Let’s call it even.”
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
