pay back

See also: payback

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peɪ bæk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

pay back (third-person singular simple present pays back, present participle paying back, simple past and past participle paid back)

1. (transitive) To pay (a debt or the lender) so as to provide the entire amount of money owed.
   • 2008 November 21, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 3, Episode 1:

     Douglas: Roy, give me £20.
     Roy: What?
     Douglas: Give me £20. I'll pay you back.

   He paid her back with interest, giving her ₿3 and an NFT for the $6 he'd borrowed last week.

   He paid back all the money he owed her, with interest.

2. (figuratively) To avenge, to exact revenge.

   He paid her back with interest, avenging his father's murder with nine degrees of reprisal.

Derived terms

• payback (noun)

Translations

to repay

• Arabic: جَازَى (jāzā)
• Armenian: վճարել (hy) (včarel), մարել (hy) (marel)
• Bikol Central: balos (bcl)
• Bulgarian: връщам пари (vrǎštam pari), разплащам се (razplaštam se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 賠 / 赔 (zh) (péi), 報償 / 报偿 (zh) (bàocháng), 償 / 偿 (zh) (cháng), 償還 / 偿还 (zh) (chánghuán)

• Danish: tilbagebetale
• Dutch: terugbetalen (nl)
• Esperanto: repagi
• Finnish: maksaa takaisin, palauttaa (fi), hyvittää (fi), maksaa (fi)
• French: rembourser (fr), rendre (fr)
• German: zurückzahlen (de)
• Greek: εξοφλώ (el) (exofló)

  Ancient: ἀποτίνω (apotínō)

• Icelandic: endurgjalda
• Irish: aisíoc
• Italian: ripagare (it), restituire (it)
• Japanese: 払い戻す (ja) (はらいもどす, haraimodosu)
• Korean: 갚다 (ko) (gapda)
• Latin: rependō
• Maori: whakautu, whakautu moni
• Norman: s'atchitter
• Old English: ġieldan, forġieldan
• Portuguese: devolver (pt)
• Quechua: hunt'apuy
• Russian: отплатить (ru) pf (otplatitʹ), расплатиться (ru) pf (rasplatitʹsja)
• Scots: foryeild
• Scottish Gaelic: ath-dhìol
• Spanish: devolver (es)
• Swahili: kulipa (sw)
• Swedish: betala tillbaka, betala tillbaks (colloquial), betala bak (colloquial)
• Vietnamese: trả (vi)
• Western Bukidnon Manobo: bales

to exact revenge

• Bikol Central: balos (bcl)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 復仇 / 复仇 (zh) (fùchóu)

• Finnish: maksaa samalla mitalla, maksaa potut pottuina, palauttaa (fi)
• French: rendre la pareille (fr)
• German: sich revanchieren (de), heimzahlen (de), sich rächen, vergelten (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀποτίνω (apotínō)

• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: rependō
• Norman: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: отплатить (ru) pf (otplatitʹ)
• Spanish: hacer pagar, vengarse (es), desquitarse (es)
• Swedish: hämnas (sv), ge igen (sv), ge betalt för gammal ost (sv)

Anagrams

• back pay, backpay