repay

[ri-pey]

See more synonyms for repay on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), re·paid, re·pay·ing.

to pay back or refund, as money.
to make return for: She repaid the compliment with a smile.
to make return to in any way: We can never repay you for your help.

to return: to repay a visit.

verb (used without object), re·paid, re·pay·ing.

to make repayment or return.

Origin of repay

From the Middle French word repaier, dating back to 1520–30. See re-, pay¹

Related formsre·pay·a·ble, adjectivere·pay·a·bil·i·ty, nounre·pay·ment, nounnon·re·pay·a·ble, adjectivenon·re·pay·ing, adjectiveun·re·paid, adjectiveun·re·pay·a·ble, adjectivewell-re·paid, adjective

Synonyms for repay

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. reimburse, indemnify. 3. requite, reward.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for repayment

reimbursement, compensation, restoration, reparation, restitution, quittance, indemnification, retaliation, revenge, amends, redress, recompense, atonement, requital

Examples from the Web for repayment

Contemporary Examples of repayment

In March, the company made an arrangement to accelerate the repayment date to 2017 – five years ahead of schedule.
Tesla Motors will repay government loan nine years early
Daniel Gross
May 15, 2013
Republicans often insist that veterans should stand at the front of the repayment queue.
Who Doesn't Get Paid if We Cross the Debt Ceiling?
David Frum
January 14, 2013
But because the grant money is gone, it will be Italian citizens who will have to shoulder the repayment.
The Mafia-Built Highway That Could Cost Italy $471 Million
Barbie Latza Nadeau
July 7, 2012
They include executive orders to help homeowners with their mortgages and students with the repayment of loans.
Why President Obama Loaded His State of the Union With Small Initiatives
Eleanor Clift
January 26, 2012
He was known to give money to local businesses and not ask for repayment.
Yakuza Goes Hollywood
Jake Adelstein
September 23, 2011

Historical Examples of repayment

When Simonides said that the repayment of a debt was justice, he did not mean to include that case?
The Republic
Plato
He said that the repayment of a debt is just, and in saying so he appears to me to be right.
The Republic
Plato
And we won't say anything about repayment either, this time.
Audrey Craven
May Sinclair
They took all they could get, but assuredly they never understood the obligation of repayment.
The O'Donoghue
Charles James Lever
The day for repayment came, but the poor man had not a single copeck.
Russian Fairy Tales
W. R. S. Ralston

British Dictionary definitions for repayment

repay

verb -pays, -paying or -paid

to pay back (money) to (a person); refund or reimburse
to make a return for (something) by way of compensationto repay kindness

Derived Formsrepayable, adjectiverepayment, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for repayment

late 15c., from re- + payment.

early 15c., from re- + payment.

repay

mid-15c., from Old French repaier "pay back, give in return," from re- "back" (see re-) + payer "to pay" (see pay (v.)). Related: Repaid; repaying.