Meaning & use
reimburse
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To pay back money to someone who has spent it on your behalf or lost it.
Grammar: Takes a person and often for: reimburse her for the ticket.
Patterns
- reimburse someone for something
- reimburse someone something
- reimburse something
The company will reimburse you for travel expenses.
She asked the airline to reimburse the cost of the delayed flight.
I will reimburse you as soon as I get paid.
verbtransitiveformal
To return an amount of money that was spent, either to a person or as an official refund.
Grammar: Can take the amount as the object: reimburse the fee.
Patterns
- reimburse the cost
- be reimbursed
The insurance reimbursed the cost of the repairs.
Fees were reimbursed within two weeks.
Word forms
| third person singular | reimburses |
|---|---|
| past tense | reimbursed |
| past participle | reimbursed |
| -ing form | reimbursing |
Common combinations
- reimburse expenses
- Employers usually reimburse business expenses.
- reimburse someone for
- He reimbursed his friend for the pizza.
- fully reimbursed
- You will be fully reimbursed if the event is canceled.
- reimburse the cost
- The school will reimburse the cost of the trip.
- be reimbursed
- Patients can be reimbursed for medical bills.
Synonyms and how they differ
- repay
- Repay is more general and can mean paying back a loan, while reimburse means returning money you spent for someone.
- refund
- Refund usually means returning money paid for goods or services, often by a shop.
- compensate
- Compensate covers making up for any loss or harm, not only an exact expense.
- pay back
- Pay back is informal and friendly, while reimburse sounds more official.
Opposites
Word family
- reimbursement noun
- a payment returned for expenses
- reimbursable adjective
- able to be paid back
- disburse verb
- to pay out money
Commonly confused: reimburse or disburse? reimburse or refund?
reimburse vs disburse
Disburse means to pay out money, while reimburse means to pay it back.
reimburse vs refund
Refund usually follows a purchase, while reimburse follows an expense paid by someone.
Practice
My employer will ___ me for the taxi fare if I keep the receipt.
Choose one answer.
Reimburse me for something is the correct pattern for being paid back. Disburse means to pay out, and refuse and recharge do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “reimburse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.