repay

verb re·pay \ (ˌ)rē-ˈpā \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: repay in a Sentence

Definition of repay

repaid play \(ˌ)rē-ˈpād\; repaying

transitive verb

1 a : to pay back

repay a loan

b : to give or inflict in return or requital

repay evil for evil

2 : to make a return payment to : compensate, requite

3 : to make requital for : recompense

the success that repays hard work

intransitive verb

: to make return payment or requital

—

repayable

play \(ˌ)rē-ˈpā-ə-bəl\ adjective

—

repayment

play \(ˌ)rē-ˈpā-mənt\ noun

See repay defined for English-language learners

See repay defined for kids

Examples of repay in a Sentence

You can repay the mortgage over 30 years.
She would rather have to repay the bank than borrow from her parents and have to repay them.
How can I ever repay your kindness?
How can I ever repay you for your kindness?

Recent Examples of repay from the Web

As Athens prepares in August to exit an eight-year dependency on international financial bailouts and repay those debts, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared a recovery.

— liz alderman, New York Times, "Greece May Be Turning a Corner. Greeks Who Fled Are Staying Put.," 5 June 2018
Last week, Avenatti and his firm Eagan Avenatti LLP were hit with court judgements ordering them to repay millions of dollars in outstanding debts.

— brooke singman, Fox News, "Avenatti request for help from liberal donors turned down: report," 1 June 2018
Louisville City FC has also agreed to repay $14.5 million to the city.

— danielle lerner, The Courier-Journal, "State gives final OK for Louisville City FC soccer stadium financing," 31 May 2018
As a part of his guilty plea, Freidman will have to repay the $5 million to the state.

— CBS News, "Michael Cohen's business partner, known as "Taxi King," pleads guilty in deal," 22 May 2018
The schools would borrow the money upfront and property owners would repay the debt over 35 years.

— bob sandrick, cleveland.com, "Brecksville, Broadview Heights, North Royalton residents will vote on school tax, senior living on May 8," 17 Apr. 2018
If those projections are wrong, the Tarrant Regional Water District could come up short in the amount of money needed to repay the bond debt.

— gordon dickson, star-telegram, "What will $250 million bond for Panther Island project mean for property taxes? | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 15 Apr. 2018
Tice spent the money on Miami Dolphins NFL season tickets, professional football memorabilia, dining and repaying personal debt, investigators said.

— jason kelly, ajc, "Deputies: Florida deputy mayor spent $7K museum donation on memorabilia, NFL tickets," 30 Mar. 2018
Georgie only asks that the Hilltop repay the debt by following the guidebook and establishing itself as a diverse trader for potential future exchanges.

— nick statt, The Verge, "The Walking Dead feels fresh, original, and truly open-ended for the first time in years," 19 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'repay.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of repay

15th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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repay Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of repay

pay, compensate, remunerate, satisfy, reimburse, indemnify, repay, recompense mean to give money or its equivalent in return for something. pay implies the discharge of an obligation incurred.

- paid their bills

compensate implies a making up for services rendered.

- an attorney well compensated for her services

remunerate clearly suggests paying for services rendered and may extend to payment that is generous or not contracted for.

- promised to remunerate the searchers handsomely

satisfy implies paying a person what is required by law.

- all creditors will be satisfied in full

reimburse implies a return of money that has been spent for another's benefit.

- reimbursed employees for expenses

indemnify implies making good a loss suffered through accident, disaster, warfare.

- indemnified the families of the dead miners

repay stresses paying back an equivalent in kind or amount.

- repay a favor with a favor

recompense suggests due return in amends, friendly repayment, or reward.

- passengers were recompensed for the delay

Financial Definition of REPAY

repayment

noun

What It Is

Repayment usually refers to the payments on a debt.

How It Works

Under the terms of a loan, repayment can have different schedules and requirements. For example, a loan may be amortized over a specific period of time, requiring regular repayments. The repayments would be divided between the interest (i.e. the interest on the outstanding loan amount) and the principal repayment (i.e. the remaining amount of the periodic payment that is used to reduce the outstanding loan amount). At the same time, a loan term may be amortized over a longer period of time than the due date on the loan. In this case, a loan will require a "balloon repayment" (i.e. the amount of principal not yet repaid will be due in full at the end of the term). In either case, all payments on the loan are called repayments.

Why It Matters

For both a borrower and a lender, the breakdown of repayments into principal and interest are very important. For a business, the interest portion of the repayment on a business loan is tax deductible. The principal is not. For a lender, the interest portion of the repayment is treated as income. The principal is not.

Source: Investing Answers

REPAY Defined for English Language Learners

repay

verb

Definition of repay for English Language Learners

: to pay back (money that you have borrowed)
: to make a payment to (a person or organization that has loaned you money)
: to do or give something in return for (something) : to provide something in return for (work, effort, etc.)