payback

American  

[pey-bak] / ˈpeɪˌbæk /

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.

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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.

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

Offenders wear high-visibility jackets emblazoned with "Community Payback" while carrying out the unpaid work, which the government said allowed the public to see justice being served in their neighbourhoods.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2025

Payback, it was assumed, would be on Seattle’s mind for a Week 10 trip to Atlanta.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 14, 2023

The Goldman chief even started his own record label, Payback Records.

From New York Times • Feb. 5, 2023

He’s the author of the book The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop.

From Slate • Feb. 14, 2020

I felt my pulse quicken when I saw its subject line: Payback Time.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Related Words

• compensation
• reimbursement