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.
When thinking about the financial cost, it's important to consider that, once graduates earn a certain amount, they are required to pay back student loans over a period of up to 40 years.
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026
Mickelson was not charged and agreed to pay back the amount.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
Setting off the decline was the company’s announcement Tuesday that it plans to pay back millions in debt by issuing stock External link.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
He also noted that if an Afterpay customer doesn’t pay back their loan, they aren’t able to take out another.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026
He figured we didn’t have enough to seed the crops next year or pay interest on the loan from the bank to cover the money he wasn’t able to pay back.
From "Worth" by A. LaFaye
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.
