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:
To repay Bono, would you care to spill any of his personal business?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Lizzy says she knows there are many "scenarios in which it doesn't pay off" for people to repay it early.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
“Under the amended lease, the Operator has agreed to repay $278,094 in back rent that was underbilled,” the report said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
While a corporate bond might not repay if the company goes bust, a U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“I will never be able to repay the kindness you have shown us.”
From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani
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
He says he repays his father $954.83 a month for the mortgage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
His brave and inspiring column revealing his ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease repays that debt, and then some.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2025
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
After the scandal broke, Kremlev said that Trump Jr. had repaid him for the wedding expenses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Independent drivers operating with thin cash reserves struggle to cover thousands of dollars in upfront fuel costs while waiting to be repaid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
The propositions granted the state authority to issue a combined $8.5 billion in general obligation bonds — a loan that’s repaid with interest over time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Finding ways to reduce credit-card balances and reducing credit-card usage that can’t be repaid monthly are “going to be even more important now,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
She had given him her cakes in the train station, and her shoes, and he had repaid her by stealing rice!
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
If the nonprofit LA28 spends more than it takes in, Los Angeles will be responsible for repaying the first $270 million in debts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Freezing that threshold means graduates start repaying their loans sooner and, once they do, they pay more than they would have done if it had risen with inflation.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
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
But falling behind on repaying your debt doesn’t automatically mean that declaring bankruptcy is right for your household.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
She wrote that she was repaying a debt, although knowing Nicasia, I would guess a little nastiness wouldn’t give her mother much pause.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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.
