pay back
Britishverb
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to retaliate against
to pay someone back for an insult
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to give or do (something equivalent) in return for a favour, insult, etc
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to repay (a loan)
noun
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the return on an investment
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Also called: payback period. the time taken for a project to cover its outlay
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something done in order to gain revenge
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( as modifier )
payback killings
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Repay a debt or a loan, as in I'll pay you back next month .
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Also, pay back in someone's own coin . Revenge oneself, repay in kind, as in He thought he could get away with copying my plans, but I'll pay him back in his own coin . This expression refers to repaying a debt in exactly the same currency in which the money had been lent. [c. 1600]
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.
She and her husband are seriously considering selling their car to pay back their loans and keep up with the rent.
From BBC
It’s making a bet that the company will exist long enough to pay back the loan.
From Barron's
Her course mate Robbie Wells, 20, has a bit of support from family but said it is concerning that many people will go on to never be able to pay back their loans.
From BBC
The court ruling didn’t address whether the government will have to pay back the tariff revenue it already has collected.
The couple have said they had since been able to reach out to the staff member to share their gratitude and pay back the £44.
From BBC
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.
