verb
reimburse
ree-ihm-BURS
verb
1
To pay someone back for money they spent or a loss they suffered.
"The company reimbursed her for the flight after the conference was cancelled."
"Keep your receipts and we will reimburse your travel costs."
How to Use Reimburse
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo give someone their money back after they have paid for something on your behalf.
Common mistake
Reimburse takes the person as the object ("reimburse you"), not the expense — you reimburse a person FOR an expense, not the expense itself.
Common pairings
reimburse expenses
reimburse someone for
fully reimbursed
Word Forms
reimbursed past tense, reimburses singular
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The company _____ her for the flight after the conference was cancelled.
Etymology
From re- ("back") plus an old verb "imburse" meaning to put money in a purse, from Old French borser, "purse." The word literally means to put money back in someone's purse.