payback

American  

[pey-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.

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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

The government is trying to free-up space by reducing the number of short-term prisoners and strengthening community payback orders.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Musk’s team argued that the spending on AI data centers would have quick payback, perhaps in less than one year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

Party leaders declared it payback and boasted about their new fighting spirit.

From Salon ● May 1, 2026

“Maybe the priest, as payback for all those St. Vincent de Paul charity trips you’ve made?”

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 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

Related Words

• compensation
• reimbursement