reimburse
Americanverb (used with object)
-
reimburses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reimbursed,
past participle, past
-
reimbursing
present participle
-
to make repayment to for expense or loss incurred.
The insurance company reimbursed him for his losses in the fire.
- Synonyms:
- redress, recoup, indemnify, remunerate, recompense
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reimbursementnoun
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reimbursernoun
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nonreimbursedadjective
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reimbursableadjective
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unreimbursableadjective
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unreimbursedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reimbursesimple
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reimbursessimple
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have reimbursedperfect
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has reimbursedperfect
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am reimbursingprogressive
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are reimbursingprogressive
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is reimbursingprogressive
-
have been reimbursingperfect progressive
-
has been reimbursingperfect progressive
Past
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reimbursedsimple
-
had reimbursedperfect
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was reimbursingprogressive
-
were reimbursingprogressive
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had been reimbursingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reimburse
First recorded in 1605–15; re- + obsolete imburse “to put into a purse, pay,” from Medieval Latin imbursāre, equivalent to Latin im- im- 1 + Medieval Latin -bursāre, derivative of bursa “bag” ( see purse)
Explanation
If you buy a basketball for your school team with your own money, and you ask your coach to reimburse you, you are asking him to pay you back. To reimburse is to compensate for an expense or loss. The person who collects money at a college is the bursar, a purse is where you store money, and reimburse means to pay money back. All three of these words share the Latin root bursa 'moneybag.' If you want to be paid back for overpaid tuition, ask the bursar, Mr. Moneybags, to reimburse you from the schools purse.
Vocabulary lists containing reimburse
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Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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Wonder
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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:
"I've probably spent between three and four hundred euros today on my credit card just to buy stuff, which, I think, I hope they'll reimburse," he added.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Other large banks since 2021 have acknowledged they are required to reimburse customers in such cases, according to the letter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
It said it tightened its seller vetting process, introduced a policy to reimburse buyers who win high-value items that sellers fail to deliver and mandated that all repack boxes be manufacturer-sealed and verified before sale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
As far as the use of the district car and driver, Carvalho is willing to reimburse the district for these costs if asked to do so, the spokesperson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
Half my paychecks bounced, and she refused to reimburse me for my penalty charges, claiming that it was my bank's fault, not hers.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
But the company stumbled last year, tripped up by rising medical costs and changes to how the government reimburses private insurers.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
Medicare reimburses providers for the use of skin substitutes for wound care.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reimburses the Medicare Advantage plan for the administration of Medicare benefits.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2025
This reimburses you for nonrefundable travel expenses like prepaid vacation packages or vacation rentals, cruises, tours, tickets and transportation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
"The question is, Blakely," remarked Captain Westervelt dryly, "will you go to Frisco to refit now, or wait till Congress reimburses?" whereat the scientist was observed to smile somewhat ruefully.
From An Apache Princess A Tale of the Indian Frontier by Frederic Remington
Soilbuild also claims that it wasn’t reimbursed by Brookfield for the fees paid to several third-party vendors to conduct technical assessments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
If you later receive a settlement or court judgment from the teenage driver’s insurance company, Medicare would typically be reimbursed for any conditional payments it made in the immediate aftermath of the automobile accident.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
Accommodation providers will also be reimbursed for administrative costs of collecting the levy, receiving about 2% of the overall pot.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The family has been reimbursed for the ID card fees by the Welfare Association, and is due to receive additional support.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
“I’m not going to get reimbursed for all the food I fed it.”
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
By the time he returned to Congress in early 2024, the House was reimbursing members for lodging expenses in Washington.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
A big part of that was because the state started reimbursing providers 40% of whatever they billed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
Another thing that’s likely to be messy and lengthy is any process of reimbursing money that companies paid to the U.S. government under the now invalid tariffs.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 20, 2026
The Freedom of Information request also said that SWR spent more than £370,000 reimbursing passengers for hotels and taxis due to delays and cancellations.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025
I think perhaps she saw the wide twisted mouth and embarrassed eyes of Martin Hopps on her and felt that in some way she was reimbursing him for his stolen life.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
