What does reimbursing mean?
“Reimbursing” means paying money back to someone for money they have spent, usually because the spending was approved, necessary, or covered by an agreement. The commonest use concerns employees receiving payment for business expenses, such as travel, meals, or accommodation, although insurers, public bodies, and other organizations also reimburse people for eligible costs. In “reimbursing expenses,” the action and the thing being paid back are both clear. The word has a formal, administrative tone, especially in expressions such as “the reimbursement of costs,” and it can sound impersonal when used for a company or institution reimbursing an individual. “Reimburse” comes from a history of returning money to a purse: its ultimate Latin source, bursare, meant to put money into a pouch or purse. Understanding that image helps clarify the meaning, because reimbursement restores someone to the financial position they would have had if the original expenditure had not occurred.
verbReimbursing means paying money back to someone for expenses they have incurred or for money they have lost. It is the present participle of reimburse.
- To pay money back to a person for expenses incurred or losses suffered.
- To pay back the cost of goods, services, or other spending.
"The company reimbursing employees for approved travel expenses."
"The insurer is reimbursing the policyholder for the cost of the repairs."
"She spent the afternoon reimbursing employees for taxi fares."
Reimburse literally means “put back into the purse”: it comes from Latin bursare, associated with the word for a purse.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of reimbursing
“Reimburse” entered English in the 18th century from French rembourser, formed with the prefix re- and a verb based on the obsolete French embourser. The French word drew on Latin imbursare, meaning “put into a purse,” from in- and bursa, “purse.” Words such as bursary and bursar ultimately share the same Latin root, although their modern meanings developed independently.
Related word forms
How reimbursing is actually used
As a gerund, “reimbursing” often has a formal or business context: “the reimbursing of travel costs.” In the form “reimbursing employees,” it means reimbursing the expenses incurred by employees.
Easily confused with reimbursing
Reimbursing is an action of paying someone back, whereas reimbursable describes a cost or expense that may be paid back.