payback
the period of time required to recoup a capital investment.
the return on an investment: This fund yields a payback of 15 percent tax-free.
the act or fact of paying back; repayment.
something done in retaliation: Excluding them from her wedding was a vicious payback for years of being snubbed.
to repay or return; pay off: Graduates from this program are successfully paying back their student loans.
to retaliate against or punish: She paid us back by refusing the invitation.
to requite.
Origin of payback
1Words Nearby payback
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use payback in a sentence
Rivers popped to his feet and went after Johnson, looking for immediate payback.
In The 1990s, The New York Knicks Fought Everyone — Even David Stern | Chris Herring (chris.herring@fivethirtyeight.com) | January 18, 2022 | FiveThirtyEightI laughed and blamed our son, saying he must’ve hidden them there as payback for having gone skiing without him.
A Dolomites Trip and a Deeper Connection to Someone Loved and Lost | cobrien | January 16, 2022 | Outside OnlineWe will start up new oil fields and we will invest in new oil fields, but only the ones that have the best carbon intensity, only the ones that have the best economics, the shortest paybacks, the highest returns.
BP's CEO Is Trying to Convince the World He's Serious About Going Green | Vivienne Walt | December 5, 2021 | TimeIt’s the method of least disruption, faster payback period, better customer experience and no privacy concerns.
New Zealand-based Imagr thinks camera-based AI is the future of shopping trolleys | Rebecca Bellan | August 27, 2021 | TechCrunchA traumatized nation desperate for security and payback put its faith in an administration primed for war.
The critics of war in Afghanistan proved prescient | Jeremy Varon | August 26, 2021 | Washington Post
The payback scene at the end of the new season was really hard to watch.
Inside 'Sons of Anarchy's' Final Season: Creator Kurt Sutter on the Most Brutal Season Yet | Annaliza Savage | September 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNonetheless, his power also derives from fear: fear of political payback, fear of his alleged wealth.
Game of Thrones’ Ep. 6, ‘The Laws of Gods and Men’: The Riveting Trial of Tyrion Lannister | Andrew Romano | May 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe payback was swift and the re-alignment was total: a Solid South, but this time, Republican.
The South Has Indeed Risen Again and It’s Called the Tea Party | Jack Schwartz | December 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIf a Republican wins the presidency in 2016, the payback from Democrats will be vicious.
Obama Really Seems to Be Looking Forward to the End of His Presidency | Dean Obeidallah | December 2, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTDrive 20,000 miles per year at $4.00 a gallon, and the payback period is shorter—2.5 years.
British Dictionary definitions for pay back
to retaliate against: to pay someone back for an insult
to give or do (something equivalent) in return for a favour, insult, etc
to repay (a loan)
the return on an investment
Also called: payback period the time taken for a project to cover its outlay
something done in order to gain revenge
(as modifier): payback killings
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with payback
Repay a debt or a loan, as in I'll pay you back next month.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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