pay back

British  

verb

1. to retaliate against

   to pay someone back for an insult

2. to give or do (something equivalent) in return for a favour, insult, etc

3. to repay (a loan)

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noun

1. 1. the return on an investment

   2. Also called: payback period.  the time taken for a project to cover its outlay

2. 1. something done in order to gain revenge

   2. ( as modifier )

      payback killings

pay back Idioms  

1. Repay a debt or a loan, as in I'll pay you back next month .

2. Also, pay back in someone's own coin . Revenge oneself, repay in kind, as in He thought he could get away with copying my plans, but I'll pay him back in his own coin . This expression refers to repaying a debt in exactly the same currency in which the money had been lent. [c. 1600]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pay back

Investors scrambled to cash out investments after a fund manager popular among everyday investors said it lacked the money to pay back clients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

"We've had the situation where thieves have gone back into a police station with the money for the goods to pay back to us," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Holdo was ordered to pay back the more than $1.7 million that prosecutors say he took, including in cases stemming from the charges that were dismissed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

Legal scholars have debated whether surrogates should pay legal damages if they fail to honor a contractual abortion provision, surrender payments remaining on the contract, or even pay back money they already received.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

A whole day’s pay back home when I was young.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison

Related Words

• adjust
• compensate
• recoup
• redeem
• reimburse
• relinquish
• remit
• repay