payback
Americannoun
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the period of time required to recoup a capital investment.
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the return on an investment.
This fund yields a payback of 15 percent tax-free.
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the act or fact of paying back; repayment.
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something done in retaliation.
Excluding them from her wedding was a vicious payback for years of being snubbed.
verb phrase
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It’s more emotional labor for you, with little actual payback.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
The steps BMW takes now—which will have an unspecified negative impact in 2H—should bring more visible payback in coming years, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
One could read the entire scripture — both the Old and New Testaments — as an allegory for humanity’s penchant for payback, and God’s many warnings against it.
From Salon ● May 19, 2026
Australia's national broadcaster, the ABC, reported that some in the crowd outside the hospital yelled that Lewis needed to face "payback" and accused the police of protecting him.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
It’s only two more miles, but it’s payback time for the two first miles—every step from here on is at a slight incline.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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
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
In 2018, it started offering generous paybacks — first at 35% of costs and now 40% — to Hollywood productions that relocate to Athens and smaller cities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2022
“It would put pressure on utilities and telecoms” as well as on companies that consistently increase quarterly paybacks to shareholders, he said.
From Reuters ● Sep. 15, 2017
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.
