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 of payback

• revenge
• retaliation
• retribution

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

In taking on the role o f a filmmaker in his latest movie, Stellan Skarsgård sniffed a chance at payback. —Thomas Page, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2025

The resulting portrait is one of a vindictive individual whose appetite for payback knows no bounds. —David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025

But solar advocates pushed back, warning that the changes would lengthen payback periods, discourage solar investment and undermine clean energy goals adopted by cities like Boise. —Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 2 Oct. 2025

Maybe this is the flip side of – or payback for – October of 2024, when the Dodgers’ starting pitching was decimated but the work of their bullpen propelled them to a World Series championship. —Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1935, 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