with interest

Idioms

With more than what one should receive, extra, and then some. For example, Mary borrowed Jane's new dress without asking, but Jane paid her back with interest—she drove off in Mary's car. This idiom alludes to interest in the financial sense. Its figurative use dates from the late 1500s.

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.

Plenty of other businesses are set on getting back their full refund—potentially with interest.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Every dollar unlawfully taken must be refunded immediately — with interest. Cough up!”

From Salon

"Every dollar unlawfully taken must be refunded immediately — with interest. Cough up!"

From Barron's

Customs and Border Protection could return most of the money owed to importers, with interest, at the push of a button.

From The Wall Street Journal

With interest rates for credit cards at 20% and higher, that adds up to a lot of money if you don’t pay off your debt every month.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023