1. To provide payment or another recompense for work, loss, injury or disadvantage.
2. To offset a deficiency or counteract an effect through another factor or action.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- compensate a worker
- compensate for a loss
On the page
The employer compensated the worker according to the agreed terms.
The settlement compensated for a loss without undoing the event that had caused it.
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- compensate
- Past tense
- compensated
- Past participle
- compensated
- Present participle
- compensating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- compensate
- Present continuous
- am/is/are compensating
- Present perfect
- have/has compensated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been compensating
- Past
- compensated
- Past continuous
- was/were compensating
- Past perfect
- had compensated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been compensating
- Future
- will compensate
- Future continuous
- will be compensating
- Future perfect
- will have compensated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been compensating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: economics / business / social science. Forms: compensate; compensates; compensated; compensated; compensating Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: economic process explanation, financial distinction, incentive analysis, institutional change. Disciplines: economics, business, public policy. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: compensates.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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