rebate
rebate Lexical Profile
rebate Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A partial refund to someone who has paid too much money for tax, rent, or a utility, or a retrospective return of part of the purchase price of a product as a sales incentive.
"Consumers who purchase the energy-efficient appliance are eligible for a fifty-dollar mail-in rebate."
British A step-shaped recess or groove cut along the edge or face of a piece of wood or stone to receive another matching piece or a pane of glass.
"The carpenter routed a neat rebate along the inner edge of the window frame to hold the glass pane."
• verb
To pay back or return a portion of an amount of money already paid as a tax, fee, or purchase price.
"The utility company agreed to rebate a portion of the monthly service fee after the extended power outage."
British To cut a step-shaped recess or groove into the edge of a piece of timber or stone, or to join two pieces together using such a groove.
"He used a specialized plane to rebate the edges of the floorboards so they would fit snugly together."
Word Nuance & Usage
In commerce, a 'rebate' differs from a 'discount' in that a discount is deducted from the price at the time of purchase, whereas a rebate is refunded to the buyer after the full price has already been paid.
• Rhymes for rebate
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French rabatre ('to beat down, reduce, or deduct'), formed from re- ('back, again') and abatre ('to beat down'), which also gave rise to the English word abate. The woodworking sense shares the same root via the variant form rabbet.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.