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payback

 - 4 dictionary results

pay⋅back

  [pey-bak]
Use payback in a Sentence
–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; n. use of v. phrase pay back
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To payback
pay·back   (pā'bāk')   
n.  

    1. The return gained from or paid on an investment: "One problem with space ventures is that the up-front costs are enormous and the paybacks uncertain and far off at best" (Eric Gelman).

    2. The return on an investment equal to the amount invested: expect a payback within six years.

  2. A benefit gained as the result of a previous action.

  3. The act or process of paying back.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
payback

  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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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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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