repay

[ ri-pey ]
See synonyms for: repayrepaid on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),re·paid, re·pay·ing.
  1. to pay back or refund, as money.

  2. to make return for: She repaid the compliment with a smile.

  1. to make return to in any way: We can never repay you for your help.

  2. to return: to repay a visit.

verb (used without object),re·paid, re·pay·ing.
  1. to make repayment or return.

Origin of repay

1
From the Middle French word repaier, dating back to 1520–30. See re-, pay1

Other words for repay

Other words from repay

  • re·pay·a·ble, adjective
  • re·pay·a·bil·i·ty, noun
  • re·pay·ment, noun
  • non·re·pay·a·ble, adjective
  • non·re·pay·ing, adjective
  • un·re·paid, adjective
  • un·re·pay·a·ble, adjective
  • well-re·paid, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use repay in a sentence

  • At this exhibition I found a splendid display of crocidolite, the sight of which well repaid the visit.

    Asbestos | Robert H. Jones
  • For anything of his own which he had spent on the clearing he was to be repaid, and all the money Eudora had put by was to be his.

    The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes
  • The proclamation embodying this Act permitted the temporary use of municipal lands, the seed supplied to be repaid after the crop.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • As she heard those words, and saw his pleased looks, Nelly felt she was well repaid for all her trouble.

  • Their kindness and the inspiration of their example must be reckoned among those things that cannot be repaid.

    Frdric Mistral | Charles Alfred Downer

British Dictionary definitions for repay

repay

/ (rɪˈpeɪ) /


verb-pays, -paying or -paid
  1. to pay back (money) to (a person); refund or reimburse

  2. to make a return for (something) by way of compensation: to repay kindness

Derived forms of repay

  • repayable, adjective
  • repayment, noun

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