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restitution

noun
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res·​ti·​tu·​tion | \ ˌre-stə-ˈtü-shən How to pronounce restitution (audio) , -ˈtyü- \

Definition of restitution

1 : an act of restoring or a condition of being restored: such as
a : a restoration of something to its rightful owner
b : a making good of or giving an equivalent for some injury
2 : a legal action serving to cause restoration of a previous state
Other Words from restitution Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about restitution

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Examples of restitution in a Sentence

the restitution of her stolen property He was ordered to make restitution to the victim.
Recent Examples on the Web Consumers will receive $20,500 in restitution as part of the settlement. — Patrick Danner, ExpressNews.com, "State settles with San Antonio man accused of selling counterfeit Yeti products," 5 Feb. 2020 He was ordered to pay more than $119,000 in restitution. — oregonlive, "Robber who leapt over bank counters, linked to six holdups sentenced to more than 8 yrs in prison," 4 Feb. 2020 He was also ordered to pay about $1.12 million in restitution. — Washington Post, "Sentence reduced for man who cooperated in corruption case," 4 Feb. 2020 Both Melton and Johnson are responsible for paying $1.2 million in restitution to the bank. — Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati.com, "Man, woman ordered to pay $1.2 million to Fifth Third Bank for check fraud scheme," 30 Jan. 2020 Houston-Woods and Anyanwu, 61, were held jointly responsible for paying $337,951 in restitution. — Kevin Krause, Dallas News, "Former Dallas charter school CEO to spend 7 years in prison for kickback scheme," 30 Jan. 2020 The court ordered him to pay $128,407 in restitution to the IRS. — Phil Helsel, NBC News, "Former CBP official sentenced to 2½ years for illegal gun sales, other crimes," 28 Jan. 2020 The Free Press investigation also triggered criminal charges against Kilpatrick, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, served 99 days in jail and was ordered to pay up to $1 million in restitution. — Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, "Peter Karmanos asks Trump to free Kwame Kilpatrick: It was a 'lynching'," 27 Jan. 2020 Sniffen was ordered to may more than $11 million in restitution, while Saxon has to pay more than $2.5 million. — Eric Heisig, cleveland, "Cleveland native sent to prison for scamming elderly out of millions of dollars from Costa Rican call center," 24 Jan. 2020

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

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First Known Use of restitution

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for restitution

Middle English restitucioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin restitution-, restitutio, from restituere to restore, from re- + statuere to set up — more at statute

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Time Traveler for restitution

Time Traveler

The first known use of restitution was in the 14th century

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Statistics for restitution

Last Updated

8 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Restitution.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/restitution. Accessed 17 Feb. 2020.

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More Definitions for restitution

restitution

noun
How to pronounce restitution (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of restitution

formal
: the act of returning something that was lost or stolen to its owner
: payment that is made to someone for damage, trouble, etc.

See the full definition for restitution in the English Language Learners Dictionary

restitution

noun
res·​ti·​tu·​tion | \ ˌres-tə-ˈtü-shən, -ˈtyü- How to pronounce restitution (audio) \

Legal Definition of restitution

1a : a restoration of something to its rightful owner
b : a making good of or giving an equivalent for some injury
2a : the equitable remedy of restoring to an aggrieved party that which was obtained in unjust enrichment
b : a remedy for breach of contract that consists of restoring the aggrieved party to the status quo that existed before the contract was made
3 : an amount to be paid for the purpose of restitution ordered to pay restitution to the victim of his crime — compare fine

Other Words from restitution

restitutional \ ˌres-​tə-​ˈtü-​shə-​nəl, -​ˈtyü-​ \ adjective
restitutionary \ ˌres-​tə-​ˈtü-​shə-​ˌner-​ē, -​ˈtyü-​ \ adjective
restitutive \ ˈres-​tə-​ˌtü-​tiv, -​ˌtyü-​ \ adjective
restitutory \ ˌres-​tə-​ˈtü-​tə-​rē, -​ˈtyü-​; rə-​ˈsti-​tyə-​ˌtōr-​ē \ adjective

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More from Merriam-Webster on restitution

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for restitution

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with restitution

Spanish Central: Translation of restitution

Nglish: Translation of restitution for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about restitution

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