Meaning & use

compensate

verb·Academic

To make up for a loss, damage, or lack of something, often by giving money or an equivalent benefit.

See it in a sentence

The airline compensated passengers with vouchers after the long flight delay.

He tried to compensate for his poor eyesight by sitting at the front of the class.

A note on using this word

Compensate can mean paying someone back financially, or balancing out a weakness in one area by strengthening another.

Words with a similar meaning

reimburseoffsetmake up for

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

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