pay back

P p

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [pey bak]
- /peɪ bæk/
- /peɪ bæk/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [pey bak]
- /peɪ bæk/

Definitions of pay back words

verb with object pay back to settle (a debt, obligation, etc.), as by transferring money or goods, or by doing something: Please pay your bill. 1
verb with object pay back to give over (a certain amount of money) in exchange for something: He paid twenty dollars for the shirt. 1
verb with object pay back to transfer money as compensation or recompense for work done or services rendered; to satisfy the claims of (a person, organization, etc.), as by giving money due: He paid me for my work. 1
verb with object pay back to defray (cost or expense). 1
verb with object pay back to give compensation for. 1
verb with object pay back to yield a recompense or return to; be profitable to: Your training will pay you well in the future. 1

See all 44 definitions of pay back

Information block about the term

Origin of pay back

First appearance:

before 1150

One of the 7% oldest English words

1150-1200; Middle English payen < Old French paier < Medieval Latin pācāre to satisfy, settle (a debt), Latin: to pacify (by force of arms). See peace

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Pay back

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Pay back

pay back popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 100% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

pay back usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for pay back

verb pay back

bandied — to pass from one to another or back and forth; give and take; trade; exchange: to bandy blows; to bandy words.
bandying — to pass from one to another or back and forth; give and take; trade; exchange: to bandy blows; to bandy words.
carry back — to apply (a legally permitted credit, esp an operating loss) to the taxable income of previous years in order to ease the overall tax burden
cash in — If you say that someone cashes in on a situation, you are criticizing them for using it to gain an advantage, often in an unfair or dishonest way.
castled — like a castle in construction; castellated

All 26 Synonyms of pay back