Meaning & use
refund
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
Money that is paid back to you, especially because you returned something or were overcharged.
Grammar: Countable: a refund, two refunds. Often used with 'get', 'give', 'offer', 'ask for'.
Patterns
- get a refund
- ask for a refund
- offer someone a refund
- a full refund
I returned the damaged shoes and got a full refund.
The airline offered us a refund for the canceled flight.
You can ask for a refund within 30 days of purchase.
verbtransitive
To give money back to someone, especially because they are not satisfied or were overcharged.
Grammar: Takes an object: refund the money, refund the customer. Can be used with 'to': refund the money to someone.
Patterns
- refund something
- refund someone
- refund something to someone
The store refunded the full amount without any questions.
We will refund your payment if the item is out of stock.
They refunded the money to my credit card.
Word forms
| plural | refunds |
|---|---|
| third person singular | refunds |
| past tense | refunded |
| past participle | refunded |
| -ing form | refunding |
Common combinations
- full refund
- If you are not satisfied, we will give you a full refund.
- refund policy
- Please read our refund policy before buying tickets.
- refund check
- The refund check arrived in the mail yesterday.
- tax refund
- She used her tax refund to pay off some bills.
- request a refund
- You can request a refund by calling customer service.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rebate
- A partial return of money, often as an incentive or discount after purchase; a refund is usually the full amount back because of a problem or return.
- reimbursement
- Money paid back for expenses you already paid, often from an employer or insurance; refund is more common for retail returns.
- repayment
- The act of paying back money that was borrowed; refund is specifically for overpayment or returned goods.
Opposites
Word family
- refundable adjective
- Can be paid back: a refundable deposit.
- refunding noun
- The process of giving money back.
Commonly confused: refund or rebate? refund or reimburse?
refund vs rebate
A rebate is often a partial refund offered as a promotion, while a refund is usually the full amount returned for a return or mistake.
refund vs reimburse
Reimburse means to pay someone back for money they spent, often for business expenses; refund is more about returning payment for a product.
Practice
I bought a faulty laptop, so I asked the store for a ______.
Choose one answer.
A 'refund' is the full amount returned when a product is faulty. A 'rebate' is a partial return, 'repayment' is for a loan, and 'reward' is given for good behavior or help.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “refund”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.