reimburse
verb
What reimburse means
To pay someone back money that they spent for you.
The company will reimburse your travel costs.
Please send the receipt so we can reimburse you.
Test yourself
Five questions about reimburse
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Question 1 of 5Meaning
What does reimburse mean?
When you spend your own money on something for your company or for another person, they reimburse you by giving that money back.
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Question 2 of 5Situation
You paid for a taxi to a client meeting, and a week later the company gave you that money back. The company ___ you.
The company gave you back money that you spent for it, so it reimbursed you. Recruiting and promoting are about jobs, not about paying back costs.
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Question 3 of 5Gap
Keep your hotel receipts, or the company cannot ___ you for the trip.
Receipts prove what you spent, and the company needs them before it pays that money back to you, which is what reimburse means.
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Question 4 of 5Similar word
Which phrase is closest in meaning to reimburse?
To reimburse someone is to pay them back the money they spent. Cut back means spend less, hold back means stop yourself, and take back means return something.
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Question 5 of 5Correct use
Which sentence uses reimburse correctly?
You reimburse a person for a cost, so the person comes straight after the verb and the cost comes after for. The noun is reimbursement, not reimburse.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer, Enter goes on.
Reimburse in a sentence
5 more examples of reimburse in everyday situations.
- At work
Keep your taxi receipts, and finance will reimburse you at the end of the month.
- Passive
Volunteers are reimbursed for travel but not paid for their time.
- Travel problems
The airline reimbursed our hotel costs after the flight was canceled.
- As a noun
Submit your reimbursement request within thirty days of the trip.
- Health insurance
Will my insurance reimburse me for the cost of new glasses?
How to use reimburse
You reimburse a person, or you reimburse a cost. You can also reimburse a person for a cost: “They reimbursed me for the taxi.”
Employers reimburse expenses. A receipt is often needed.
Forms
- reimburseshe, she, it
- reimbursedpast and past participle
- reimbursing-ing form
- reimbursementnoun
Patterns
- reimburse someone for something
- reimburse something (a cost)
- be reimbursed for something
- a reimbursement request / claim
Common mistakes with reimburse
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NotThey reimbursed to me the taxi.
SayThey reimbursed me for the taxi.
Reimburse takes the person straight after it, with no to, and then for before the thing you paid for.
Reimburse or refund or pay back?
- reimburse or refund
- A refund gives you back money you paid to a shop or company, for example for a returned product; you are reimbursed when someone pays you back for money you spent for them.
- reimburse or pay back
- Pay back is the everyday phrase, often for a loan between friends; reimburse is formal and is used for official costs like travel, expenses or insurance claims.
Reimburse is a C1 word. Is that your level? Take the level test or count the words you know.
Reimburse word family and collocations
The words that go with reimburse, so you can use it in a whole phrase.
Common collocations
- reimburse expenses
- reimburse you for
- be reimbursed
- full reimbursement
- reimburse travel costs
Word family
- reimburse (verb)
- reimbursement (noun)
Similar words
- pay back
- refund
Questions about reimburse
What preposition goes with reimburse?
Use for with the cost: they reimbursed me for the train ticket. You can also reimburse the cost directly: they reimbursed the ticket.
What is the noun of reimburse?
The noun is reimbursement, as in an expense reimbursement or a reimbursement form. It can be countable or uncountable.
How do you pronounce reimburse?
It is said ree-im-BURSS, with three syllables and the stress on the last one.
The word before
Do you still remember destination?
One question about the word from 22 October. Remembering a word a day later helps it stay.
One question
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What does destination mean?
Your destination is where you are going: the place you want to reach when your trip is over, for example a city or a hotel.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer.
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