rebate
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to allow as a discount.
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to deduct (a certain amount), as from a total.
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to return (part of an original payment).
He rebated five dollars to me.
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to provide a rebate for (merchandise) after purchase.
The manufacturer is rebating this air conditioner.
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to blunt (an edged or pointed weapon).
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to cover the edge or point of (an edged or pointed weapon) in order to make it incapable of cutting or piercing.
verb (used without object)
noun
noun
verb
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to deduct (a part) of a payment from (the total)
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archaic to reduce or diminish (something or the effectiveness of something)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rebatesimple
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rebatessimple
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have rebatedperfect
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has rebatedperfect
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am rebatingprogressive
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are rebatingprogressive
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is rebatingprogressive
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have been rebatingperfect progressive
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has been rebatingperfect progressive
Past
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rebatedsimple
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had rebatedperfect
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was rebatingprogressive
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were rebatingprogressive
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had been rebatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rebate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English rebaten (verb), from Old French rabatre “to beat, put down,” from re- re- + (a)batre “to beat” ( see abate)
Explanation
A rebate is a partial refund of the cost of an item. It acts as an incentive to help sell the product. If your new cell phone came with a rebate, you'll get a check in the mail for a certain amount of the cost. A well-known rebate occurred in 2007 when President George Bush issued tax rebate checks to many people in America, giving back some of what each person paid in taxes. Rebate comes from the Old French word rabattre, meaning "beat down, drive back." Rebate can also be used as a verb that refers to giving a reduction in price during a sale. For example, your internet provider might rebate your bill for three months to keep you as a customer.
Vocabulary lists containing rebate
Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Middle School
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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:
In its first year, it used that rebate to fund community outreach on recycling.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Kalshi and Polymarket said they rebate some market makers’ fees and sometimes even pay them for providing liquidity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
Nodding to those concerns, Carney recently announced a temporary tax break on fuel and a one-time grocery rebate that will be delivered to Canadians' bank accounts in June.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
The country offers a 30% rebate that expands when factoring in eligible Hungarian spending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
“Doesn’t that entitle me to a rebate of punishment?” he asked of Belle.
From The Motor Girls on the Coast or, The Waif From the Sea by Penrose, Margaret
And they didn’t get any of their taxes rebated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2021
Under the program, the permitting approval process for outdoor seating will be shortened and application fees will be waived or rebated.
From Washington Post ● May 26, 2020
A better idea would be a market-based carbon tax, with revenue rebated to consumers.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 22, 2018
One was a program related to robo-adviser unit Amerivest that rebated some fees for new clients whose portfolios performed poorly.
From Reuters ● Dec. 6, 2016
She treated him not uncivilly, but her Coldness would have rebated the Courage of any but Alvaro.
From The Works of Aphra Behn Volume V by Summers, Montague
UnitedHealth plans to return profits from the Affordable Care Act marketplace to consumers by voluntarily eliminating and rebating profits this year.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
Sales have steadily declined since hitting $19.14 billion world-wide in 2015, however, partly because insurers have limited use to the dwindling supply of the sickest patients and Gilead has increased rebating to cope with competition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2018
“As much as the drugmakers complain about the rebating scheme, they’ve grown as dependent on its subterfuge, opacity and inequity as everyone else in the system,” he wrote.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 10, 2017
It would also create a detailed program for rebating those revenues to economically vulnerable populations who would be adversely affected by the subsequent hit to the fossil fuel industries.
From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2015
It is fixed in position by slightly rebating the edge of the door and fastening with ordinary countersunk brass screws.
From Woodwork Joints How they are Set Out, How Made and Where Used. by Fairham, William
The drug-price rebates adopted by Germany in its recently passed healthcare reform were disappointing, Soriot says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The partnership comes as U.S.-based producers increasingly set up projects in Britain to take advantage of generous tax rebates there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
Apple offers subsidized smartphones through telecom carriers, while drug companies give rebates to pharmacy benefit managers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
On the other hand, SoCalGas offers wildfire rebates for more energy-efficient gas appliances.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026
Cut the rebates in the side pieces into which these pieces are to rest their ends.
From Mission Furniture How to Make It, Part 2 by Windsor, H. H. (Henry Haven)
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.
