What does reimburse mean?
Reimburse means to pay back money that someone has already spent, especially a person who covered costs on behalf of an employer, institution, insurer, or other organization. The verb commonly takes a person as its object and can also be followed by the expense or cost being covered. In practice, “reimburse someone for something” is the usual pattern, while the related noun “reimbursement” names the payment or the right to receive it. Although associated with workplace expenses, claims, and institutional accounting, reimburse is not limited to business: a friend may reimburse another for dinner, or an insurer may reimburse a policyholder for covered losses. The word carries a formal, practical tone and conveys repayment more precisely than a broad word such as compensate. It is especially useful when money has already changed hands and the issue is restoring the spender rather than rewarding someone or offering compensation in a nonfinancial form.
verbTo pay back money to someone for expenses or costs they have incurred. It can also mean to refund the cost of something already purchased or provided.
- To pay back money for expenses or costs incurred by someone.
"The company will reimburse employees for reasonable travel expenses."
"The company will reimburse employees for reasonable travel expenses."
"After the storm damaged the roof, the insurer reimbursed the homeowner for urgent repairs."
Reimburse and disburse are financial opposites: one sends money back, while the other sends it out.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reimburse come from?
The English word dates to the sixteenth century and comes through Medieval Latin reimbursement, from Late Latin reimbursare. Its components are re-, indicating back or again, and bursare, “to purse up,” ultimately from Latin bursa, “purse.” Related English words sharing that root include bursar, bursary, and disburse; disburse describes paying money out rather than returning it.
Related word forms
How reimburse is actually used
Reimburse is standard in business, insurance, legal, and administrative contexts and is also normal in personal speech. It normally denotes repayment of an actual expense, while compensate can cover a broader range of benefits or losses.
Easily confused with reimburse
Reimburse means to return money already spent to the person or organization entitled to it, whereas disburse means to pay money out, especially from an organization or public fund.