pay·back

[pey-bak]
noun
1.
the period of time required to recoup a capital investment.
2.
the return on an investment: a payback of 15 percent tax-free.
3.
the act or fact of paying back; repayment.
4.
something done in retaliation: a really vicious payback for years of being snubbed.

Origin:
1955–60; noun use of verb phrase pay back

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
Payback is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

payback
1959, "net return on profits from an investment," from pay (v.) + back. Meaning "revenge" is attested from 1970.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

payback definition


  1. n.
    retribution. : You hit me, I hit you. That's your payback.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
The paper you sign says if you don't return, you payback some portion of your salary.
The total amount of money in the world can not payback the total debt and interest owed on that debt.
Managers are reluctant to invest in efficiency unless the return is high and
  the payback time is short.
After all, it was the postal workers who first began this type of payback.
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