compensation

American  

[kom-puhn-sey-shuhn] / ˌkɒm pənˈseɪ ʃən /

noun

compensations plural

1. the act or state of compensating, as by rewarding someone for service or by making up for someone's loss, damage, or injury by giving the injured party an appropriate benefit.

2. the state of being compensated or rewarded in this way.

3. something given or received as an equivalent for services, debt, loss, injury, suffering, lack, etc.; indemnity.

   The insurance company paid him $2000 as compensation for the loss of his car.

   Synonyms:

   indemnification, satisfaction, requital, reparation, amends, payment, recompense

4. Biology. the improvement of any defect by the excessive development or action of another structure or organ of the same structure.

5. Psychology. a mechanism by which an individual attempts to make up for some real or imagined deficiency of personality or behavior by developing or stressing another aspect of the personality or by substituting a different form of behavior.

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compensation British  

/ ˌkɒmpɛnˈseɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of making amends for something

2. something given as reparation for loss, injury, etc; indemnity

3. the automatic movements made by the body to maintain balance

4. the attempt to conceal or offset one's shortcomings by the exaggerated exhibition of qualities regarded as desirable

5. biology abnormal growth and increase in size in one organ in response to the removal or inactivation of another

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncompensation
  noun
• precompensation
  noun
• subcompensation
  noun
• compensational
  adjective
• procompensation
  adjective
• subcompensational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• compensations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of compensation

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English compensacioun, from Latin compēnsātiōn-, stem of compēnsātiō “a balancing”; equivalent to compensate + -ion

Explanation

Compensation means "making up for something." When a restaurant offers you a free dessert as compensation for messing up your dinner order, the hope is that you will leave happy (and refrain from writing a negative review online). Compensation can also be money, a payment meant to give someone a fair exchange for their effort and output. In fact, the word comes from the Latin word compensat-, meaning "weighed against." If you receive fair compensation for your work, the money is equal to your time and effort. In other words, the scale is balanced.

Example Sentences

As AI becomes more prominent, some creatives have expressed concerns that the technology could take away their livelihoods and are worried their work is being used to train AI models without their permission or compensation.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026

Manchester City are closing in on the appointment of former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca as manager on a three-year deal after reaching an agreement on compensation with their Premier League rivals.

From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026

"It is not merely about apology or compensation -- it is about the rehumanisation of memory and the restoration of values that were distorted by centuries of dehumanisation," he said.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

The company has also faced criticism for an aggressive approach to stock-based compensation that has diluted existing shareholders.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 17, 2026

At the time of Walter's release, only ten states and the District of Columbia had laws authorizing compensation to people who have been wrongly incarcerated.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• allowance
• benefit
• bonus
• coverage
• earnings
• fee
• indemnity
• pay
• payment
• payoff
• premium
• profit
• redress
• reimbursement
• remittance
• remuneration
• reparation
• restitution
• reward
• salary