repay
/ri:'pei/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb (transitive):
- To pay back money that has been borrowed: To return money to someone from whom it was borrowed.
- To make a return or compensation for something: To give, do, or get something of equal value in return for a service, favor, kindness, or injury.
- To make a return payment to (a person): To give money or something else of value to someone in return for a benefit received from them.
Usage and Examples
To return borrowed money:
- I will repay the loan in monthly installments.
- He promised to repay the $100 by next Friday.
To reciprocate an action or feeling (often a positive one):
- How can I ever repay you for your help?
- She repaid their hospitality by inviting them to dinner.
To retaliate or require (often for a negative action):
- He vowed to repay the insult.
- The team was eager to repay their rivals for last season's defeat.
Advanced Usage
"to repay a debt": To return money that is owed.
- It took them ten years to repay their mortgage debt.
"to repay a favor": To do something helpful for someone who has helped you.
- I'm just trying to repay the favor you did for me last year.
"to repay someone's trust/faith": To act in a way that justifies someone's belief in you.
- He worked hard to repay his manager's faith in him.
Variants and Related Words
Repayment (noun): The action of paying back a loan or the sum of money paid back.
- The loan repayment is due on the first of each month.
Repayable (adjective): (Of a loan) required to be paid back.
- The grant is not repayable.
Synonyms
- Refund: To give back money, typically because of an unsatisfactory purchase.
- Reimburse: To repay (money) to someone who has spent or lost it.
- Compensate: To give (someone) something, typically money, in recognition of loss, suffering, or injury.
- Reciprocate: To respond to (a gesture or action) by making a corresponding one.
- Retaliate: To make an attack or assault in return for a similar attack.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Repay back: (Often redundant; "repay" usually suffices) To pay back.
- You must repay back the full amount.
Related Idioms
To repay in kind: To respond to an action with a similar action.
- After his betrayal, she repaid him in kind by exposing his secrets.
To repay with interest: To respond more forcefully or generously than one received.
- His kindness was repaid with interest when the whole community came to his aid.
Verb
- answer back
- act or give recompense in recognition of someone's behavior or actions
- make repayment for or return something
- pay back
- Please refund me my money