payback

/ˌpeɪˈbæk/

/ˈpeɪbæk/

Other forms: paybacks

Payback is a way to get even with someone — it's revenge. If your brother shares an unflattering picture of you online, you might get payback with an even worse photo of him.

An act of retaliation, or hurting someone who's hurt you, is one meaning of payback. A small kind of payback might be stealing one of your friend's cookies after she's snagged a few of your French fries; a huge payback is when two warring countries use increasingly deadly weapons against each other. The original meaning of payback is a "financial reward," or "profits from an investment."

Definitions of payback

1. noun

   the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life
   synonyms: retribution, vengeance

   type of:

   retaliation, revanche, revenge

   action taken in return for an injury or offense
2. noun

   financial return or reward (especially returns equal to the initial investment)
   type of:

   issue, payoff, proceeds, return, take, takings, yield

   the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property