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.
Graduates pay back what they earn above the repayment threshold at a rate of 9%.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
I got my education with the help of a part-time pizza-delivery job, merit scholarships and loans—loans I was thrilled to take and proud to pay back in full.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 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
“Cartoons were inspired by the slapstick masters. This was a way to pay back to that period that also inspired the Minions.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Here was a chance for the old yeller dog to pay back for all the trouble he’d made around the place.
From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson
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.
