repay

[ ri-pey ]

/ rɪˈpeɪ /

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See synonyms for: repay / repaid 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR repay

1 reimburse, indemnify.

3 requite, reward.

See synonyms for repay on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

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Origin of repay

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

OTHER WORDS FROM repay

re·pay·a·ble, adjectivere·pay·a·bil·i·ty, nounre·pay·ment, nounnon·re·pay·a·ble, adjective

non·re·pay·ing, adjectiveun·re·paid, adjectiveun·re·pay·a·ble, adjectivewell-re·paid, adjective

How to use repay in a sentence

They do not cause cancer, unlike coal-powered plants, and though there are certainly emissions associated with their manufacturing process, the typical wind project repays its carbon footprint in six months or less.
Science was a big winner—and loser—at this week’s presidential debate|Sara Chodosh|October 23, 2020|Popular-Science
Local agencies may repay loans with water and hydropower revenues.
Healthy forests do more than just prevent wildfires|By Bales & Conklin/The Conversation|October 19, 2020|Popular-Science
We repaid all of our debt about 18 months ago and are now able to grow the business from the sales that we make.
The irreverent toilet paper startup that cleaned up during the pandemic lockdown|Rachel King|October 18, 2020|Fortune
Slave traders had no trouble pricing a human life, and abolition-era economists repaid slave owners for the losses of their freed slaves.
What is owed Africa|Lynsey Chutel|October 13, 2020|Quartz

The state of Ohio on Monday ordered General Motors to repay $28 million in public subsidies for reneging on its promise to keep its sprawling Lordstown plant open.
Ohio Just Ordered GM to Repay $28 Million in Tax Breaks for Closing the Lordstown Auto Plant|by Dan O’Brien, The Business Journal|September 28, 2020|ProPublica
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|DAILY BEAST
In 2007, the Bush administration pioneered a new approach to student loan debt: income-based repayment.
The Hidden Trap of Income Based Repayment|Megan McArdle|February 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Saving vs. debt repayment, index funds v. ETFs, and why they don't turn Camp Pendleton over to developers?
How to Save it and Where|Megan McArdle|February 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
The program has since been amended to make it more generous, with a lower income cap and longer repayment term.
Are We Paying Too Much for Higher Education?|Megan McArdle|September 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Why should he have compunction—why think about it, when the hour of repayment was so near at hand?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
If the holder has been free from wrong in presenting the check, the bank cannot look to him, but to the drawer for repayment.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
He proposed to advance the money requisite for these two payments, and to take repayment from the future remittances of China.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.|E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
Before he got into the Czar's favor he owed my father a large sum, and then sought how to evade repayment.
The Czar's Spy|William Le Queux
The repayment of that advance will yet cost Ireland many a groan.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 54, No. 334, August 1843|Various

British Dictionary definitions for repay

repay

/ (rɪˈpeɪ) /

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 forms of repay

repayable, 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

repay

OTHER WORDS FOR repay

Origin of repay

OTHER WORDS FROM repay

Words related to repay

How to use repay in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for repay

Derived forms of repay