Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pay back

/peɪ bæk/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.31 in modern English

Syllables: pay back
IPA: /peɪ bæk/

20

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To pay (a debt or the lender) so as to provide the entire amount of money owed.

Transitive verb

verb

To avenge, to exact revenge.

Example Sentences

"Douglas: Roy, give me £20. Roy: What? Douglas: Give me £20. I'll pay you back."
"He paid her back with interest, giving her ₿3 and an NFT for the $6 he'd borrowed last week."
"He paid back all the money he owed her, with interest."
"He paid her back with interest, avenging his father's murder with nine degrees of reprisal."

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

pays back (present, singular) paying back (participle, present) paid back (participle, past) paid back (past)

Derived Forms

payback

Phrases

pay off old scores pay the piper pay the price

Frequently Paired Words

pay off old scores pay the piper pay the price

Synonyms

pay off get fix reward repay

Questions

How do you pronounce pay back?: The recorded pronunciation is /peɪ bæk/.
What does pay back mean?: To pay (a debt or the lender) so as to provide the entire amount of money owed.

How to pronounce pay back

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pay back”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/peɪ bæk/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pay back”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pay back” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.