payback

[pey-bak]

noun

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of payback¹

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

Example Sentences

If Carroll wondered if he’d ever get payback, it came Sunday.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"These are not the shots of a number 11," added Botham, as if he was being pranked by the whole of Australia as payback for his own Ashes exploits.

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“In 2022, if you had a GPU, you could pay for it in six months. Now the payback is still somewhere between 1½ and two years.”

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“We expected to see the payback on U.S. October deliveries after the Inflation Reduction Act credits ran out; however, foreign markets continue to show weakness,” wrote Langan, which leaves “downside” to fourth-quarter delivery estimates.

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“Essentially the payback time for that ends up being a year or two. You’re saving so much money each year on your energy bill.”

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Related Words

• compensation 
• reimbursement