What does repay mean?
Repay means to return money that has been borrowed, lent, or otherwise received, as when a borrower repays a loan or a bank repays a deposit. It also has a broader figurative sense of making amends or returning a benefit: a person can repay a favor, compensate someone for a loss, or repay an injury in kind. The verb is used in British and American English and commonly appears with words such as loan, debt, money, favor, and kindness. Repay is more formal than the expression pay back, but it is not limited to financial language. Its related noun, repayment, names the act or amount of paying money back, while repayable describes a debt that can be settled.
To pay back money that has been borrowed, lent, or received; to settle a debt or financial obligation.
"He repaid the bank in monthly installments."
Often used with loans, debts, money, and advances. The past tense is repaid, and the present participle is repaying.
To compensate someone for a loss, expense, or harm, or figuratively to return a favor or kindness.
"The company repaid her for the inconvenience caused by the delay."
This extended use is well established, especially in formal and literary contexts.
To repay something is not merely to return money: in its oldest uses, it meant to pay back a person or injury in kind.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does repay come from?
Repay entered Middle English in the late medieval period, formed by combining the prefix re-, meaning again or back, with pay. The word ultimately belongs to a family rooted in the Latin verb pax, meaning peace, through the related forms pacare, to make peace, and pagare, to pay. English pay is also a cognate and a related derivative. In early usage, repay could mean paying back money, compensating another person, or returning a favor or injury.
Related word forms
How repay is actually used
Repay is formal but widely understood. It is especially common in financial contexts, while reimburse is often preferred when a person or organization returns money for expenses or an overpayment. The figurative use with favors, injuries, or efforts is established but somewhat literary.
Easily confused with repay
Repay is the verb describing the act of paying money back, while repayable is an adjective describing a debt or amount that can be paid back.