reimburse
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to make repayment to for expense or loss incurred.
The insurance company reimbursed him for his losses in the fire.
- Synonyms:
- redress, recoup, indemnify, remunerate, recompense
verb
Other Word Forms
- nonreimbursed adjective
- reimbursable adjective
- reimbursement noun
- reimburser noun
- unreimbursable adjective
- unreimbursed adjective
Etymology
Origin of reimburse
First recorded in 1605–15; re- + obsolete imburse “to put into a purse, pay,” from Medieval Latin imbursāre, equivalent to Latin im- im- 1 + Medieval Latin -bursāre, derivative of bursa “bag” ( purse )
Explanation
If you buy a basketball for your school team with your own money, and you ask your coach to reimburse you, you are asking him to pay you back. To reimburse is to compensate for an expense or loss. The person who collects money at a college is the bursar, a purse is where you store money, and reimburse means to pay money back. All three of these words share the Latin root bursa 'moneybag.' If you want to be paid back for overpaid tuition, ask the bursar, Mr. Moneybags, to reimburse you from the schools purse.
Vocabulary lists containing reimburse
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Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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Wonder
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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.
Warner approved a provision to pay up to $335 million to reimburse Zaslav for excise taxes he will owe once he cashes out.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
The ruling ordered the government to reimburse roughly $175 billion that importers had paid over the past year, though the refunds are stuck in legal wrangling.
From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026
Also, it’s worth noting that the coverage doesn’t typically reimburse you the full amount of what you’ve paid — rather, it may reimburse just 50% to 75% of your prepaid, nonrefundable cost.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026
FBI directors are banned from flying commercially due to security concerns, but must reimburse the government for personal use of the plane at the price of an airline ticket.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
He could reimburse the government for all the people and property he had destroyed and still have enough money left over to continue buying Egyptian cotton.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
