payback

[pey-bak]

noun

1. the period of time required to recoup a capital investment.

2. the return on an investment.

   This fund yields a payback of 15 percent tax-free.

3. the act or fact of paying back; repayment.

4. something done in retaliation.

   Excluding them from her wedding was a vicious payback for years of being snubbed.

verb phrase

1. 1. to repay or return; pay off.

      Graduates from this program are successfully paying back their student loans.

   2. to retaliate against or punish.

      She paid us back by refusing the invitation.

   3. to requite.

Word History and Origins

Origin of payback¹

First recorded in 1955–60; noun use of verb phrase pay back

Example Sentences

Jackson’s father, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, wrote shortly after the incident on X that his son “was told that he could get his ‘payback’ in the ring” after Smith hit Jackson before the event.

From Los Angeles Times

The revenue payback “will certainly have a chilling effect,” Handley told me, because the government fee “might make the initial investment appear uneconomical.”

From Los Angeles Times

He said goods from about 60 other trade partners which the White House described as the "worst offenders" - including the EU and China - would face higher rates, as payback for unfair trade policies.

From BBC

A woman who allowed a girl aged under 10 to drive a car through an Aberdeenshire village has been given a community payback order.

From BBC

His kindness is cruel — and Iris wants payback.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• compensation 
• reimbursement