Word
reimburse
Phoneticsre·im·burse, stress on the third syllable
US/ˌɹiɪmˈbɝs/
UK/ɹˌiːɪmbˈɜːs/
Definitions
01to pay someone back
B2 · Upper Intermediate Formal
v. to give someone back the money they spent on your behalf or for work.
v. to compensate a person for money they have already expended. Transitive — requires a direct object representing the person or the amount.
“The company will reimburse you for your travel expenses after you submit the receipts.”
“The university agreed to reimburse the visiting professor for all reasonable costs associated with his international flight and accommodation.”
Synonyms
02to recoup funds
C1 · Advanced Technical · Formal
v. to get back money that was spent from a specific fund or account.
v. to recoup or restore a specific sum of money that has been spent. Often used in technical or financial contexts regarding budgets.
“The department needs to reimburse the petty cash fund by the end of the month.”
“The insurance payout allowed the firm to reimburse the capital reserves that had been depleted during the emergency repairs.”
Usage
The verb is transitive. It commonly takes the preposition 'for' to indicate the reason for payment ('reimburse someone for something').
Pitfall
The company will reimburse your taxi.
The company will reimburse you for your taxi.
Reimburse usually takes the person as the direct object, not the item purchased.
Real-World Examples
“He contacted his bank to explain the situation in the hope of being reimbursed.” “Why, he asks, do colleges pay VAT costing £200m, while schools are reimbursed?” Etymology
1591, re- (“back”) + imburse (“pay”, literally “put in a purse”) (perhaps after Middle French rembourser or Italian rimborsàre), from Middle French embourser, from Old French en- (“in”) + borser (“to get money”), from borse (“purse”), from Medieval Latin bursa (English purse).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
- アルファベット
- 読み方の一覧 →
QR code
englishreference.com/q/reimburse