payback

American  

[pay-bak] / ˈpeɪˌbæk /

noun

• paybacks
  plural

1. the period of time required to recoup a capital investment.

2. the return on an investment.

   This fund yields a payback of 15 percent tax-free.

3. the act or fact of paying back; repayment.

4. something done in retaliation.

   Excluding them from her wedding was a vicious payback for years of being snubbed.

---

verb phrase

1. 1. to repay or return; pay off.

      Graduates from this program are successfully paying back their student loans.

   2. to retaliate against or punish.

      She paid us back by refusing the invitation.

   3. to requite.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• paybacks
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of payback

First recorded in 1955–60; noun use of verb phrase pay back

---

Explanation

Payback is a way to get even with someone — it's revenge. If your brother shares an unflattering picture of you online, you might get payback with an even worse photo of him. An act of retaliation, or hurting someone who's hurt you, is one meaning of payback. A small kind of payback might be stealing one of your friend's cookies after she's snagged a few of your French fries; a huge payback is when two warring countries use increasingly deadly weapons against each other. The original meaning of payback is a "financial reward," or "profits from an investment."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

payback paybacks

He reflected on his own experience when discussing the importance of a quick payback.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

A T. Rowe Price fund manager thinks the hyperscalers can comfortably fund their investment spending, and moreover, derive high returns on that invested capital with a short payback schedule.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

"He got me out last year so I had to get some payback," Craig told BBC Sport.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

It’s more emotional labor for you, with little actual payback.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

“It’s payback time,” Char says, laughing out loud.

From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake

Enticements for investors are relatively low-cost funds, with annualized management fees typically below 1%, and, of course, immediate paybacks.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

It often takes 10 years to site, design, construct and commission a conventional PSH plant at a time when private investors are realizing paybacks of 10 years or less from subsidized solar and wind farms.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2023

"We still hold legal ownership of the businesses, but we don't get any information, dividends or loan paybacks from there," CEO Markus Rauramo said in his first interview about the subject.

From Reuters ● Aug. 9, 2023

Besides the pandemic, they’ve had to face economic pressures from rising costs of living, college loan paybacks and an uncertain economy, among other challenges.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2022

But it has long been clear that the net metering paybacks are overly generous, even lavish.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2022

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• compensation
• reimbursement

---