Meaning & use
goodwill payment
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Meanings
nouncountablebusiness
Money paid voluntarily to a customer or worker to show goodwill, often after a problem or delay.
Grammar: Countable: a goodwill payment, two goodwill payments. Often followed by to someone or for something.
Patterns
- make a goodwill payment
- a goodwill payment to someone
- a goodwill payment for something
- receive a goodwill payment
The airline made a goodwill payment to each passenger after the long delay.
The company offered a goodwill payment for the inconvenience caused by the repairs.
She received a goodwill payment of £50 when her order arrived late.
nouncountablebusinessBritish
A sum paid as part of a business deal to keep a good relationship, especially when buying a shop or practice.
Grammar: Countable and often used in the plural: goodwill payments. Common in British business contexts.
Patterns
- goodwill payment for a business
- include a goodwill payment
When he bought the dental practice, part of the price was a goodwill payment for the existing patients.
The contract included a goodwill payment to the former owner.
Word forms
| plural | goodwill payments |
|---|
Common combinations
- make a goodwill payment
- The hotel made a goodwill payment to guests affected by the noise.
- a goodwill payment for the inconvenience
- They sent a goodwill payment for the inconvenience of the cancelled flight.
- offer a goodwill payment
- The bank offered a goodwill payment to customers who had been overcharged.
- receive a goodwill payment
- He received a goodwill payment after complaining about the service.
- goodwill payment to a customer
- A goodwill payment to a customer is not an admission of legal responsibility.
Synonyms and how they differ
- compensation
- Compensation is usually money paid because of a legal right or loss; a goodwill payment is voluntary and often smaller, given to keep a good relationship.
- ex gratia payment
- Ex gratia payment is the formal legal term for a voluntary payment; goodwill payment is the everyday business term with a similar meaning.
- refund
- A refund returns money the customer already paid; a goodwill payment is extra money given to apologize or build goodwill.
Word family
- goodwill noun
- A friendly feeling or the value of a business's good reputation.
- payment noun
- An amount of money paid.
Commonly confused: goodwill payment or goodwill?
goodwill payment vs goodwill
Goodwill alone is the friendly feeling or business reputation, not the money; a goodwill payment is the actual sum paid.
Practice
After the mix-up with her booking, the hotel made a goodwill ______ to say sorry.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is make a goodwill payment; payment is the noun needed after a. 'Pay' is a verb and cannot follow a. 'Paying' is a gerund and would need a different structure, such as 'a paying gesture', which is not the phrase. 'Paid' is the past participle and does not fit after a.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “goodwill payment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.