Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
💵 To return money 😠 To take revenge
to pay back

to pay back

11 3.2
Do something to someone to hurt them for what they did
  • phrasal verb
  • /peɪ bæk/
  • Informal
: vengarse de
  • I do know this though, if you're really believing that people are out to get you, the best way to pay them all back is to be successful.
  • pay you back in kind
  • way to pay back
  • paid a man back

And then they were doing what they could to pay back the other side.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • We brought you in, we nurtured you like family, and now's the time to pay us back.

    Renegade Force (1998)

  • You want to pay back the people who hurt you.

    The Seventh Cross (1944)

  • And then they were doing what they could to pay back the other side.

    Megyn Kelly

  • I wanna pay you back for saving my life.

    Pep Squad (1998)

  • She made us dinner and this is how you pay her back?

    Problem Child 2 (1991)

  • Maybe this is your chance to pay society back for all the trouble you've caused it.

    The Secret Invasion (1964)

  • I'll pay you back for your treachery, I swear it.

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1960)

  • I lived for the day I could pay you back for what you'd done to me, for what you'd cost me.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Making a contribution to society through our p132 work and making a difference in people's lives through our relationships is the way we pay back for the success and abundance we have received.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • After he betrayed me, I knew I had to pay back his actions one way or another.

Synonyms

to fight back
vsto pay back
262 3.3

Resist an attack or criticism by responding

is more about returning wrongs, while this stresses active resistance
to get back
vsto pay back
  • Informal
129 4.2

Do something to hurt someone because they hurt you

is a general return action that can be less personal or direct
to teach someone a lesson
vsto pay back
  • Informal
120 4.2

Punish someone so they learn not to do it again

is the broader return idea, not focused on causing learning
to avenge
vsto pay back
106 4.9

Punish someone who hurt you or someone you care about

is more about personal getting even rather than formal justice
to get back at
vsto pay back
  • Informal
94 5.6

To do something to hurt someone because they hurt you

is the broader idea of returning a wrong, not only immediate punishment
to retaliate
vsto pay back
82 7.3

To hurt someone because they hurt you

is the general act of returning a wrong to get even
to get even
vsto pay back
  • Informal
80 5.4

To do something to hurt someone because they hurt you

is the general return idea and can be less measured or literal
to fix
vsto pay back
  • Informal
48 8.2

To get revenge on someone for something they did

is the wider act of returning wrongs, not always punitive
to strike back
vsto pay back
38 4.9

To fight back after someone attacks or hurts you

is the broader return idea which can be planned or delayed
to revenge
vsto pay back
16 4.2

To harm someone because they hurt you or someone you care about

is a wider action of returning a wrong, not only causing harm
to pay off
vsto pay back
  • Informal
1 5.1

Take revenge on someone for a wrong

is the broader notion of returning a wrong beyond physical harm
to fix someone's wagon
vsto pay back
  • Offensive
1 9.6

Punish someone for something they did to you

is the general return response which may not aim to instruct
to pay (someone) back in (their) own coin
vsto pay back
  • Informal
1 8.3

Treat someone in the same bad way they treated you

is a general return action that need not mirror the original act
to pay off old scores
vsto pay back
  • Informal
1 8.2

To get revenge or settle a past wrong

covers any return action and is not limited to past grievances

Antonyms

to forgive
∞ 1.4

To stop feeling angry at someone or yourself for a mistake

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

How Vengeful

to avenge
106 4.9
to pay back
  • Informal
11 3.2
to get back at
  • Informal
94 5.6
to let it go
280 3.5

Surface Forms

pay back infinitive
paying back present participle
pays back third person singular
paid back past
paid back past participle

Morphology

pay + back

Although 'pay' + 'back' transparently yields the sense 'repay' (which a B1 learner who knows the constituents could infer), the target definition here — 'to get even / take revenge' — is a metaphorical extension of repayment and not directly predictable from the literal meanings (especially given the provided senses of 'pay' as money transfer and 'back' as support). The revenge sense is ambiguous and idiomatic, so learners who only know the constituent words would likely not reliably infer this meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Pay back for meaning revenge comes from the idea of 'settling a debt' with actions instead of money. Think of pay as 'settle' and back as 'give back', so pay back can mean 'to get even' or 'take revenge'.