payback

P3A1Y4B3A1C3K5
/ˈpeɪbæk/

noun

An act of revenge.

“They beat us last year, so this year's win was payback.”

Similar
repaymentgetbackrevengereprisaljust desertspoetic justicevengeanceretribution
Less commonScrabble 20
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Meanings

nounpayback (usually uncountable, plural paybacks)

plural paybacks

  1. uncountableusuallyAn act of revenge.

    They beat us last year, so this year's win was payback.

    Synonyms: repayment, getback, revenge, repayment, reprisal, just deserts, poetic justice

  2. countableusuallyA benefit, reward, a form of recompense.

    They identify three tangible paybacks.

    2009 February 2, Carol Goar, “You can help cleaners earn decent wages”, in Toronto Star
  3. uncountableusuallyA return on investment.
  4. rareuncountableusuallyA refund; reimbursement.
verb
  1. misspellingMisspelling of pay back.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn act of revenge.

Similar
repaymentgetbackrevengerepaymentreprisaljust desertspoetic justice

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life

Similar
vengeanceretribution
Broader
retaliationrevenge
Also see
just desertsrecompenserepaymentretributionrevengerewardvengeance

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Deverbal from pay back.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan venjança, retorn
  • venjançaan act of revenge — see also revenge
  • retorna form of recompense
Chinese Mandarin 報復 /报复, 報酬 /报酬
  • 報復 /报复 (bàofù)an act of revenge — see also revenge
  • 報酬 /报酬 (bàochóu)a form of recompense
Finnish takaisinmaksu, kosto
  • takaisinmaksuan act of revenge — see also revenge
  • kostoan act of revenge — see also revenge
  • kompensaatioa form of recompense
German Rache, Revanche
  • Rachean act of revenge — see also revenge
  • Revanchean act of revenge — see also revenge
  • Rückzahlunga form of recompense
  • Rückerstattunga form of recompense
Polish zemsta, zapłata
  • zemstaan act of revenge — see also revenge
  • zapłataan act of revenge — see also revenge
  • rekompensataa form of recompense
Portuguese forra, troco
  • forraan act of revenge — see also revenge
  • trocoan act of revenge — see also revenge
  • retornoa form of recompense
Romanian rambursare
  • rambursarea form of recompense
Russian месть, воздая́ние
  • месть (mestʹ)an act of revenge — see also revenge
  • воздая́ние (vozdajánije)an act of revenge — see also revenge
  • возме́здие (vozmézdije)an act of revenge — see also revenge
  • вознагражде́ние (voznagraždénije)a form of recompense
  • награ́да (nagráda)a form of recompense
Spanish venganza, desquite
  • venganzaan act of revenge — see also revenge
  • desquitean act of revenge — see also revenge
  • revanchaan act of revenge — see also revenge
  • recompensaa form of recompense
Ukrainian відплата, винагорода
  • відплата (vidplata)an act of revenge — see also revenge
  • винагорода (vynahoroda)a form of recompense
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“payback.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/payback. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “payback,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/payback.

Source: payback on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.