# compensate

/ˈkɑmpənˌseɪt/ (US) · /kˈɒmpənsˌeɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/compensate
Updated: 2026-05-02

## Senses

### 1. to make up for a problem

verb · CEFR B2 · Academic

to provide something good to balance out something bad or missing.

For teachers: to counterbalance or offset a deficiency, error, or negative effect with an equivalent positive force.

- His great enthusiasm for the project helped to compensate for his lack of experience.
- The company's high salary offerings were designed to compensate for the high cost of living in the city center.

### 2. to pay for work or loss

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to pay someone money because they worked for you or because they suffered a loss.

For teachers: to provide financial payment or other valuable consideration in exchange for services rendered or as restitution for damages.

- The airline had to compensate the passengers for the long flight delay.
- The court ordered the firm to compensate the victims of the industrial accident for their medical expenses and lost wages.

### 3. to adjust for a change

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to change how something works to handle a new situation or a problem.

For teachers: to make an adjustment in a system or behavior to offset the influence of an external factor or internal failure.

- The pilot had to compensate for the strong winds while landing the plane.
- The software automatically compensates for lens distortion to ensure the final image appears perfectly flat.

## Examples

- The company will compensate you for your travel costs.
- The firm had to compensate the residents for the noise pollution caused by the new factory.
- While his lack of formal training was evident, his natural intuition and tireless work ethic more than compensated for his technical shortcomings during the project.

## Pitfalls

- Not "He compensated his lack of experience with hard work." but "He compensated for his lack of experience with hard work." — When the verb means to offset a negative quality, it requires the preposition 'for' before the noun phrase.

## Usage notes

- Often used with the preposition 'for' when referring to balancing a deficiency. The verb is transitive when referring to payment ('compensate someone').

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.