Pay back
Pay back verb - Act or give recompense in recognition of someone's behavior or actions.
To pay
Mutual synonyms
Both terms in one sentence
- Hal then steals the cards to pay for a family skiing trip, without Malcolm's knowledge or permission, which he clearly never intends to pay back.
Source: Financial Abuse -
Loads and Loads of Characters: Behold.◊ Loan Shark: Yuma's parents got involved with the Yakuza and couldn't pay back, and were ordered to pay up with Yuma (heavily implied to be as a Sex Slave) instead.
Source: Fan Fic / To the Stars - But transferring a mortgaged property requires the recipient to pay that extra 10% immediately, whether they pay back the entire mortgage or not.
Source: That One Rule
Cite this Source
To pay and Pay back. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/pay_back/to_pay
Pay back & To pay. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/pay_back/to_pay>.
To pay or Pay back. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/pay_back/to_pay.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "pay back" and "to pay" have occurred on timeline