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Synonyms

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)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

    1. the return on an investment

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

    1. something done in order to gain revenge

    2. ( as modifier )

      payback killings
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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]

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.

In other words, the company felt it was limiting its business opportunities by forcing potential customers to prove they could afford to pay back a car loan.

From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026

“If you pass away first, the remaining annuity funds are used to pay back Medicaid.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

Axar advanced $45 million in loans to finance construction and pay back artists and vendors, bringing the Mirage’s total debt to Axar to $120 million, according to company records.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

It’s making a bet that the company will exist long enough to pay back the loan.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

Had he done it deliberately, to pay back Mars Bar for all his nastiness?

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

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.