payback

American  

[pey-bak] / ˈpeɪˌbæk /

noun

1. the period of time required to recoup a capital investment.

2. the return on an investment.

   This fund yields a payback of 15 percent tax-free.

3. the act or fact of paying back; repayment.

4. something done in retaliation.

   Excluding them from her wedding was a vicious payback for years of being snubbed.

---

verb phrase

1. 1. to repay or return; pay off.

      Graduates from this program are successfully paying back their student loans.

   2. to retaliate against or punish.

      She paid us back by refusing the invitation.

   3. to requite.

Etymology

Origin of payback

First recorded in 1955–60; noun use of verb phrase pay back

Example Sentences

Those locations earn back their roughly $1.4 million build costs in about two years on average, an unusually fast payback in the restaurant industry.

From The Wall Street Journal

If Carroll wondered if he’d ever get payback, it came Sunday.

From Los Angeles Times

"These are not the shots of a number 11," added Botham, as if he was being pranked by the whole of Australia as payback for his own Ashes exploits.

From BBC

“In 2022, if you had a GPU, you could pay for it in six months. Now the payback is still somewhere between 1½ and two years.”

From MarketWatch

“We expected to see the payback on U.S. October deliveries after the Inflation Reduction Act credits ran out; however, foreign markets continue to show weakness,” wrote Langan, which leaves “downside” to fourth-quarter delivery estimates.

From Barron's

Related Words

• compensation
• reimbursement