Meaning & use
compensate
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To pay someone money or give them something to make up for a loss, injury or trouble.
Grammar: Takes a person as object and often for: compensate the workers for the delay.
Patterns
- compensate someone for something
- compensate someone with something
The airline will compensate passengers for the cancelled flight.
The company compensated the family for the damage to their house.
Victims were compensated with a fair payment.
verbintransitive
To balance a weakness or loss by using another strength or doing something extra.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by for: compensate for a lack of height.
Patterns
- compensate for something
He compensated for his short height by training harder.
The extra staff will compensate for the loss of two experienced workers.
She tried to compensate for her shyness by preparing thoroughly.
verbtransitivebusiness
To pay a worker a salary or wages.
Grammar: Takes an object and a payment phrase: they compensate staff generously.
Patterns
- compensate someone for something
Employees are compensated according to experience.
The firm compensates its engineers well.
Volunteers are not compensated for their time.
Word forms
| third person singular | compensates |
|---|---|
| past tense | compensated |
| past participle | compensated |
| -ing form | compensating |
Common combinations
- compensate for
- Nothing can compensate for the lost years.
- fully compensate
- The insurer will fully compensate you for your loss.
- compensate someone for
- The council compensated residents for the noise.
- compensate by
- She compensated by doubling her efforts.
- adequately compensate
- The payment did not adequately compensate for the injury.
- compensate for the difference
- A small bonus helps compensate for the difference in salary.
Synonyms and how they differ
- make up for
- Make up for is the everyday phrasal verb and fits casual speech better than compensate.
- reimburse
- Reimburse means paying back money someone has spent, while compensate covers loss or harm as well.
- offset
- Offset suggests canceling one thing with another, often figures or costs, rather than rewarding a person.
- repay
- Repay stresses giving back something owed, such as money or kindness, and is less about harm.
Opposites
Word family
- compensation noun
- money or something else given to make up for a loss
- compensatory adjective
- intended to make up for something
- compensated adjective
- paid or balanced
- uncompensated adjective
- not paid or not made up for
Commonly confused: compensate or complement? compensate or compliment?
compensate vs complement
Complement means to complete or go well with something, whereas compensate means to make up for something lost.
compensate vs compliment
A compliment is a polite expression of praise, which has an unrelated meaning.
Practice
The airline will ___ travelers for the lost luggage.
Choose one answer.
Compensate means to pay or give something for a loss. Complement and compliment look similar but mean go well with and praise, and compose means create.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “compensate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.