Phrasal Verb: Pay Back
to return money
Examples
- I'll pay you back.
Key rules
- Pay back means return money you owe someone
- It is separable: pay back the loan or pay the loan back
- With a pronoun, the pronoun goes in the middle: pay it back
- It can also mean take revenge in informal speech
Common mistakes
- I'll pay back you → I'll pay you back
💡 Tip: "Repay" is the more formal word for returning money.