rebate
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
rebates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rebated,
past participle, past
-
rebating
present participle
-
to allow as a discount.
-
to deduct (a certain amount), as from a total.
-
to return (part of an original payment).
He rebated five dollars to me.
-
to provide a rebate for (merchandise) after purchase.
The manufacturer is rebating this air conditioner.
-
to blunt (an edged or pointed weapon).
-
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)
-
rebates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rebated,
past participle, past
-
rebating
present participle
noun
noun
noun
verb
-
to deduct (a part) of a payment from (the total)
-
archaic to reduce or diminish (something or the effectiveness of something)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
rebatesimple
-
rebatessimple
-
have rebatedperfect
-
has rebatedperfect
-
am rebatingprogressive
-
are rebatingprogressive
-
is rebatingprogressive
-
have been rebatingperfect progressive
-
has been rebatingperfect progressive
Past
-
rebatedsimple
-
had rebatedperfect
-
was rebatingprogressive
-
were rebatingprogressive
-
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:
The city offered a 10% tax rebate this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
The risk is compounded by the elimination in 2021 of a rebate program that allowed tourists to reclaim the value-added tax they paid on souvenirs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Mr Long is waiting to hear from the local authority about his request for a council tax rebate.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
In May, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a $1-billion rebate program for electric trucks, stating the state is committed to “clean technologies that will define the future of transportation.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
I allow a handsome rebate, Denis, that you put into the reckoning yesterday.
From Idonia: A Romance of Old London by Arthur F. Wallis
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
The state of Oklahoma issues the plates and registrations for the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations and a portion of the fees the state collects are then rebated back to the tribes.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 29, 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
It will aim to be revenue neutral, however, because Washington’s sales tax will be cut by 1% and further tax rebated will be given to manufacturers and low-income households.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 4, 2016
The end at the right hand is slightly rebated to receive the frame, and both the rail and the end are grooved with a plough plane.
From Woodwork Joints How they are Set Out, How Made and Where Used. by William Fairham
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
The one great accomplishment of the Commission, I think, in the last three years, has been the enforcement of the law as against rebating.
From Letters of Franklin K. Lane by Louise Herrick Wall
In effect, the measure would allow the governor and the Legislature to put more money into budget reserves, creating another option to avoid triggering rebates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
PBMs receive rebates calculated as a percentage of a drug’s list price, meaning higher-priced brand drugs yield larger payments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
An existing bill offering tax rebates on fiber-optic equipment was hastily rewritten to provide tax breaks on data center gear.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
But with rebates flowing, counterparties are now suing some of these companies for pocketing those higher costs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
I'm glad that our vessels bring cargoes across, while counting rooms wrestle with profit and loss; that men know the beauties of figures and dates, and tariffs and duties and railway rebates.
From Rippling Rhymes by Walt Mason
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
