1
: requital
2
: a return on an investment equal to the original capital outlay
also
: the period of time elapsed before an investment is recouped
Examples of payback in a Sentence
They beat our team last year, so we've got to beat them this year as payback.
we are hoping to get payback for the humiliating defeat we suffered at the hands of our rivals during our last matchup
Recent Examples on the Web
As a form of payback, the OP asked her 38-year-old friend to pretend to be her boyfriend and accompany her to Easter dinner with her father and his younger partner.
—
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
However, after Daly previously morphed Coel's Shania into a monstrous alien creature as payback for her stepping in to defend Nannette from one of Daly's assaults, Brooker's new story reveals her grim fate amid the video game's contentious landscape.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025
The movie seems to lean into a theory that Costello tipped off local authorities that a bunch of guys up to no good were going to get together—possibly as payback for Genovese trying to kill him.
—Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025
However, the originals were not delivering the payback YouTube execs anticipated via subscriptions.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for payback
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
However, after Daly previously morphed Coel's Shania into a monstrous alien creature as payback for her stepping in to defend Nannette from one of Daly's assaults, Brooker's new story reveals her grim fate amid the video game's contentious landscape.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025
The movie seems to lean into a theory that Costello tipped off local authorities that a bunch of guys up to no good were going to get together—possibly as payback for Genovese trying to kill him.
—Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025
However, the originals were not delivering the payback YouTube execs anticipated via subscriptions.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for payback
Cite this Entry
“Payback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/payback. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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