payback

noun

pay·​back ˈpā-ˌbak 

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

Synonyms

• reprisal
• requital
• retaliation
• retribution
• revenge
• vengeance

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

His vote drew fierce protests and even prompted a ballot measure to seize his 200-year-old New Hampshire farmhouse as payback. —Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 9 May 2025

But Bolton wouldn’t go that far, even after 100 days of payback. —Sean Rameswaram, Vox, 2 May 2025

Many of his statements reviewed by NPR suggest motivations based on personal grievances, partisan politics and a desire for payback. —Tom Dreisbach, NPR, 29 Apr. 2025

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

Word History

First Known Use

1718, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing payback

• payback time

Rhymes for payback

• aback
• anzac
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback