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Definition of "compensation" []

  • The act of compensating or the state of being compensated. (noun)
  • Something, such as money, given or received as payment or reparation, as for a service or loss. (noun)
  • Biology The increase in size or activity of one part of an organism or organ that makes up for the loss or dysfunction of another. (noun)
  • Psychology Behavior that develops either consciously or unconsciously to offset a real or imagined deficiency, as in personality or physical ability. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "compensation" in a sentence
  • "Then anything I pay out in compensation is a cost to me."
  • "The argument that someone who has been sentenced to 120 hours of community service for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and ordered her to pay her victim £500 in compensation, is not a particularly admirable figure is nowhere put."
  • ""Scientology lawyers are believed to be drawing up a lawsuit seeking GBP50m in compensation from the publishers of an unauthorised biography of Tom Cruise written by Princess Diana's biographer, Andrew Morton" - The Bookseller"