Idiom
pay one's debt to society
Meaning
To serve time in prison or a similar correctional facility.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He must pay his debt to society for his crimes.”
“After the judge sentenced him to five years in prison, he began to pay his debt to society.”
“The former convict spent his final years working in community service, feeling he had finally paid his debt to society.”
Examples
simple
“He must pay his debt to society for his crimes.”
contextual
“After the judge sentenced him to five years in prison, he began to pay his debt to society.”
complex
“The former convict spent his final years working in community service, feeling he had finally paid his debt to society.”
Key words
Related idioms
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