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REFERENCE

refund

n. · v.
US //ˈɹiˌfənd// re·fund
  1. 1 money returned (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    an amount of money that is given back to you.

    a sum of money returned to a person, typically because they have returned goods or overpaid for a service.

    Example

    I took the broken toaster back to the shop and asked for a full refund.

    Example

    The airline refused to issue a cash refund, offering instead a travel voucher valid for twelve months from the date of the original flight.
  2. 2 to give money back (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to give someone their money back.

    to repay a sum of money to a person, especially a customer who is dissatisfied with a purchase.

    Example

    The company agreed to refund the full cost of the tickets after the concert was cancelled.

    Example

    The department will refund any overpaid taxes directly into your bank account within ten working days of the assessment.

    Usage

    This verb is transitive and requires a direct object, usually the amount or the person being paid.
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  1. 3 to get money back (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    to get your money back for something you bought.

    to obtain a refund for a purchase; used transitively with the item as the object.

    Example

    I need to refund this dress because it doesn't fit me properly.

    Example

    She decided to refund the laptop after discovering a dead pixel in the centre of the screen.

    Usage

    In this informal sense, the object is the item being returned rather than the money.
Origin

From Middle English refunden, refounden, from Old French refondre, refonder, refunder (“to restore; pay back”), from Latin refundere; prefix re- (“re-”) + fundere (“to pour”): compare French refondre, refonder. See fuse (“to melt”), and compare refound (“to cast again”), and refuse.

Word family

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