verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To pay back; to give in return, as payment, reward, or punishment; to requite.

   "to retribute someone for their kindness"

Example

More examples

"to retribute someone for their kindness"

Etymology

Latin retributus, past participle of retribuo (“I retribute”); prefix re- + tribuo (“I bestow, assign, pay”). See tribute.

Related phrases

pay back

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.