pay back

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)

noun

1. 1. the return on an investment

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

2. 1. something done in order to gain revenge

   2. ( as modifier )

      payback killings

Idioms and Phrases

Repay a debt or a loan, as in I'll pay you back next month .

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

Instead, when the mortgage is refinanced or the house is sold, the borrower pays back the original loan, plus 20% of its increase in value.

From Los Angeles Times

The idea is that borrowers are more likely to pay back — and less likely to default on — a loan attached to the home they actually live in.

From Salon

"I think of it as paying back a little bit. I was helped out quite a lot," he added.

From BBC

Governments borrow money from investors by selling bonds - which is a loan the government promises to pay back at the end of an agreed time.

From BBC

Hundreds of thousands of Australians forced to pay back welfare debts created by an illegal automated system have won the largest payout in the country's history.

From BBC

Related Words

• adjust 
• compensate 
• recoup 
• redeem 
• reimburse 
• relinquish 
• remit 
• repay