1
: requital
2
: a return on an investment equal to the original capital outlay
also
: the period of time elapsed before an investment is recouped
Examples of payback in a Sentence
They beat our team last year, so we've got to beat them this year as payback.
we are hoping to get payback for the humiliating defeat we suffered at the hands of our rivals during our last matchup
Recent Examples on the Web
But Cousins managed a payback nearly four minutes later, scoring off a rebound of a Shane Pinto shot for a 1-0 Ottawa lead.
—
CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
Maybe all these injuries were payback for the good fortune of the past few seasons.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026
Instead of tackling the usual staples like hierarchy, territoriality, simmering violence and payback, this is primarily a reflection on care work as a gift to the bestower as much as the receiver.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026
Fakroune is accused of posing as Angelino Escobar, the son of the famed Columbian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, and lying to people about his connections to nonexistent Italian mafiosos to ensure payback on his loans.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for payback
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CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
Maybe all these injuries were payback for the good fortune of the past few seasons.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026
Instead of tackling the usual staples like hierarchy, territoriality, simmering violence and payback, this is primarily a reflection on care work as a gift to the bestower as much as the receiver.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026
Fakroune is accused of posing as Angelino Escobar, the son of the famed Columbian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, and lying to people about his connections to nonexistent Italian mafiosos to ensure payback on his loans.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for payback
Cite this Entry
“Payback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/payback. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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