Meaning & use
repay in
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
to give money back using a particular currency, method, or form of payment.
Grammar: Takes an object after 'in': repay the loan in cash. It can also stand alone when the object is clear: I'd rather repay in cash.
Patterns
- repay something in something
- repay in cash / in dollars / in installments
- repay someone in something
The bank allows you to repay the loan in euros if you earn your salary abroad.
Would you like to repay in cash or by card at the counter?
They agreed to repay the debt in monthly installments over two years.
verbtransitive or intransitivefigurative
to respond to someone's kindness or harm with the same kind of behavior or feeling.
Grammar: Often used figuratively with abstract nouns: repay someone in kindness, repay a favor in style. The object still comes after 'in'.
Patterns
- repay someone in kindness
- repay a favor in style
- repay someone in kind
She repaid his generosity in kindness and never mentioned the money again.
He repaid the insult in kind, which only made the argument worse.
They repaid their neighbors' help in small favors whenever they could.
Word forms
| third person singular | repays in |
|---|---|
| past tense | repaid in |
| past participle | repaid in |
| -ing form | repaying in |
Common combinations
- repay a loan in installments
- We chose to repay the loan in installments rather than in one lump sum.
- repay in cash
- The shop prefers customers to repay in cash for small amounts.
- repay in dollars
- Foreign buyers must repay in dollars under the contract.
- repay in kind
- If someone helps you move house, repay them in kind when they need a hand.
- repay in full
- She managed to repay the whole amount in full before the deadline.
- repay a debt in monthly payments
- He is repaying his debt in monthly payments of two hundred pounds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pay back
- More informal and very common in speech; it focuses on returning money to a person, while 'repay in' focuses on the currency or method used.
- settle
- Used in formal or business contexts for paying what you owe, often without mentioning the method; 'repay in' usually names the currency or form.
- reimburse
- Means giving someone back money they already spent, often for work costs; 'repay in' is broader and can also mean returning a loan or a kindness.
Opposites
Word family
- repayment noun
- the act of paying money back, or an amount paid back
- repayable adjective
- describing money that must or can be paid back
- repay verb
- to give money back or return a kindness without naming the method
Commonly confused: repay in or pay in? repay in or repay by?
repay in vs pay in
'Pay in' means putting money into a bank account or contributing money to a group, not returning money you owe; 'repay in' is about giving back what you received.
repay in vs repay by
'Repay by' names a deadline or a method such as a date or a transfer service, while 'repay in' names a currency, cash, or installments.
Practice
The contract says we must ______ in euros, not in dollars.
Choose one answer.
'Repay the loan' fits because the object comes directly after 'repay', and 'in euros' follows to show the currency. 'Repay in the loan' is wrong because 'in' cannot come before the thing being repaid.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “repay in”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.