reimbursement

American  

[ree-im-burs-muhnt] / ˌri ɪmˈbɜrs mənt /

noun

1. repayment for an expense or loss incurred.

   Visitors will receive reimbursement for travel and housing expenses.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreimbursement
  noun

Etymology

Origin of reimbursement

reimburse ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Explanation

A reimbursement is a repayment for money you've already spent. When you travel for work, you get a reimbursement for your work-related expenses, like hotel bills and plane tickets, but you'll have to pay for that trip to the circus yourself. Reimbursement comes from the Latin root words re, meaning again; in, meaning into; and bursa, meaning purse. So the word reimbursement literally means in a purse again. After your parents' basement flooded, they paid to repair the damage and then got a reimbursement from the insurance company, so that they could put the money they spent in their purse again.

Example Sentences

McMahon agreed to pay more than $1.7 million in a civil penalty and in reimbursement to WWE, without admitting or denying the agency’s findings.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026

An analysis of House reimbursement disclosures shows that their rent is consistent with C Street rents, and lower than what other Washington renters pay, even in less expensive neighborhoods.

From Salon • May 29, 2026

The full scope of the costs and related impacts hasn’t yet been determined, but the company added it plans to seek reimbursement of certain costs and believes that the unauthorized access has been contained.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

Waiting on reimbursement and knowing that if it doesn’t come you’ll have to pay interest is stressful.

From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026

In the late 1990s, Medicare slashed reimbursement levels to around $450 per procedure, and the incomes of the surgically minded ophthalmologists fell.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• payment
• remuneration
• repayment
• restitution