back pay

noun

A withheld payment for work which has already been completed, or which could have been completed had the employee not been prevented from doing so.

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Meanings

nounback pay (countable and uncountable, plural back pays)

plural back pays · alternative backpay

  1. countableuncountableA withheld payment for work which has already been completed, or which could have been completed had the employee not been prevented from doing so.
  2. countableuncountablePay received by an employee from an increase awarded retrospectively, and backdated.

Origin

From back + pay.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 補薪 /补薪
  • 補薪 /补薪 (bǔxīn)withheld payment for work
Finnish pidätetty palkka
  • pidätetty palkkawithheld payment for work
Russian заде́ржка зарпла́ты
  • заде́ржка зарпла́ты (zadéržka zarpláty)withheld payment for work
Cite this entry
APA

back pay. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/back%20pay

MLA

“back pay.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/back%20pay. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “back pay,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/back%20pay.

Source: back pay on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.