repay
Americanverb (used with object)
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repays,
present (3rd person singular)
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repaid,
past participle, past
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repaying
present participle
verb (used without object)
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repays,
present (3rd person singular)
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repaid,
past participle, past
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repaying
present participle
verb
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to pay back (money) to (a person); refund or reimburse
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to make a return for (something) by way of compensation
to repay kindness
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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repayabilitynoun
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repaymentnoun
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nonrepayableadjective
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nonrepayingadjective
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repayableadjective
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unrepaidadjective
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unrepayableadjective
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well-repaidadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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repaysimple
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repayssimple
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have repaidperfect
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has repaidperfect
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am repayingprogressive
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are repayingprogressive
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is repayingprogressive
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have been repayingperfect progressive
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has been repayingperfect progressive
Past
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repaidsimple
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had repaidperfect
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was repayingprogressive
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were repayingprogressive
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had been repayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of repay
From the Middle French word repaier, dating back to 1520–30. See re-, pay 1
Explanation
When you give someone money that you owe them, you repay them. A bank may loan you money to buy a new car, but you'll have to repay the money, plus interest. You might repay a bank loan, or repay your brother the dollar you borrowed last week. You can also repay things other than money: "How will I ever repay your kindness and support?" Repay comes from the French repaier, with its "back" prefix re- and payer, "to pay."
Vocabulary lists containing repay
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:
Two weeks ago, Walter announced an agreement to sell controlling interest in the Lakers at a $12.5-billion valuation, the cash from which could help repay loans under scrutiny.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Gibson's barrister asked the judge at Bristol Crown Court, Recorder Jaron Crooknorth, to defer sentencing and said that it would give him time to earn money with which to repay the victims.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Andrea feels deep shame when she thinks about the loan she took out a year ago in Buenos Aires that she is now unable to repay.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Primary care is a slow way to repay it, so fewer doctors choose the field.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Someday I hope I can repay him, and give him what he deserves in return for all he’s done for me.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Pyburn, who also went undrafted after playing three years at Florida and his senior year at LSU, can regain his college eligibility if he terminates his contract with the Bucs and repays earnings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
She repays about £150 a month and said it feels like "a constant burden that is always hanging over your head".
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Though the diary entry concedes that Mansfield was “so intelligent & inscrutable that she repays friendship,” the two women wouldn’t become friends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
The money is typically issued within three days, and the platform repays itself by withholding those wages from the user’s next paycheck.
From Salon ● Jan. 17, 2025
See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
For Andrea’s 40th birthday earlier this year, I repaid the favor and requested a video for her from Nell Campbell, who portrayed Columbia, in which she talked about sisterhood — and “Rocky Horror,” of course.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Instead, interest accrues on the loan and is repaid when the home is sold, often when the homeowners pass away.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Nicklin rejected requests by Harry and the other celebrities to pay on a standard basis, instead favouring arguments by ANL that its costs should be repaid on a stricter so-called indemnity basis.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
At Carnival, CFO David Bernstein made a commitment to investors: He wouldn’t leave until the company repaid its pandemic-era debt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
“Favor or no favor. The money has all been repaid to you and that’s the end of it. Sorry, Annie.”
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
He had been repaying each $1,000 invested with $1,500 just 90 days later, but only by taking more money from newcomers or, as a judge later puts it, “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Music has given me so much that this album is my way of repaying music for all the blessings it’s given me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Parents who are already repaying loans will lose access to income-driven repayment plans.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
"I'm repaying in instalments, but the debt is not going down."
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
At Truman, it’s like he’s repaying a debt.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
