pay back
Britishverb
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to retaliate against
to pay someone back for an insult
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to give or do (something equivalent) in return for a favour, insult, etc
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to repay (a loan)
noun
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the return on an investment
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Also called: payback period. the time taken for a project to cover its outlay
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something done in order to gain revenge
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( as modifier )
payback killings
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Repay a debt or a loan, as in I'll pay you back next month .
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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]
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.
Students who attended for-profit colleges struggle more than others to pay back their loans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
They also quoted the financial expert Martin Lewis, who has highlighted that what students earn rather than what they borrow determines what they pay back each year.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
The public funds cannot be used for legal costs, fines or to pay back personal loans to a campaign.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
Those whose claims have been rejected will also have to pay back the costs if their income matches the government threshold.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
She had to pay back every penny, plus six percent extra for interest.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
