Reimbursable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Involving expenses that can be paid back after they are incurred, such as costs related to travel or services provided
2. Pertaining to money that will be refunded to an individual or organization for expenditures made
3. Relating to the capability of being repaid for costs already covered, especially in professional or business contexts

Etymology: Reimbursable is simply reimburse plus the suffix "-able", so the interesting part lies in the parts. "Reimburse" was formed in English from "re-", meaning back or again, and "imburse", an older verb meaning to put money into a purse. The word therefore literally means putting money back into someone's purse, a neat image hidden in plain sight. The suffix comes from Latin "-bilis", which meant "able to be" or "capable of being", and reached English through Old French "-able". Attached to a verb, it turns the action into a quality: something that can be done is "-able". So a reimbursable expense is one that can be paid back to you.

Synonyms: refundable, recompensable, compensable, repayable, recoupable

Antonyms: non-refundable, non-repayable, irrecuperable, irrecoverable, uncompensable