pay back

British  

verb

1. to retaliate against

   to pay someone back for an insult

2. to give or do (something equivalent) in return for a favour, insult, etc

3. to repay (a loan)

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noun

1. 1. the return on an investment

   2. Also called: payback period.  the time taken for a project to cover its outlay

2. 1. something done in order to gain revenge

   2. ( as modifier )

      payback killings

pay back Idioms  

1. Repay a debt or a loan, as in I'll pay you back next month .

2. Also, pay back in someone's own coin . Revenge oneself, repay in kind, as in He thought he could get away with copying my plans, but I'll pay him back in his own coin . This expression refers to repaying a debt in exactly the same currency in which the money had been lent. [c. 1600]

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Example Sentences

Student advocates argued that the practice made little money for colleges, while costing graduates opportunities that could help them pay back their debts.

From Los Angeles Times

It promised to gradually pay back money it owed, without specifying when.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued the nation’s largest servicer of student loans Wednesday, alleging that Navient Corp. cheated borrowers, resulting in higher payments for Americans struggling to pay back their student loans.

From Los Angeles Times

He earns around $1,400 a month, some of which he uses to pay back loans.

From The Wall Street Journal

There's just one problem - he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the difference.

From BBC

Related Words

• adjust
• compensate
• recoup
• redeem
• reimburse
• relinquish
• remit
• repay