Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) revenge, retaliation.

[1935		J.G. Hides Through Wildest Papua 17: The Loloipa people killed eleven men of Tauru's village; they killed them early one morning about three weeks ago. They ate nine of the Amula men. Tauru's people do not payback; they wait for the Government].
1945		O. White Green Armor 102: [T]here had been an outbreak of feud warfare between some of the outlying villages. ‘Payback’ made pacification very difficult.
1951		Dly Telegram (Eau Claire, WI) 18 May 1/5: In their [i.e. N. Korean troops] path was an American regiment seeking revenge for their losses [...] ‘This is payback,’ the commanding officer [...] said, ‘We’ve been killing them as fast as we can’.
1960		implied in sense 2.
1972		(con. 1960s) D. Goines Whoreson 262: She would really find out what payback was all about.
1981		H. Gould Fort Apache, The Bronx 149: Oh yeah, baby, payback is a bitch. What goes around comes around.
1989		C. Hiaasen Skin Tight 50: Payback, to the sonofabitch who’d started it all.
1999		Guardian Guide 2–8 Oct. 89: Then he can get down to finding out who stitched him up, and dishing out some serious payback.
2005		P. Howard Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightdress 4: Rattling his sister was payback.
2009		P. Temple Truth 58: I would say payback. By pricks who hate Vern Hudson.
2011		G. Knight Hood Rat 143: They arrested Daniel next day with his body armour on, waiting for the payback.
2017		T. Pluck Bad Boy Boogie [ebook] You get too greedy for cash, gash, or payback, and that’s when you go down.
2020		G. Armstrong Young Team 54: They set aboot me [...] that wis payback.
2020		D. Winslow ‘Sunset’ in Broken 210: They want payback for their boy.
2020		G. Disher Consolation 316: ‘[T]his could be payback for something you’ve been working on, you know’.

2. attrib. use of sense 1.

1960		Age (Melbourne) 26 Mar. 5/4: The court was told the murders were ‘payback’ killings.
1980		G. Liddy Will 279: The ceremonial courtroom seethed with hostile humanity. It was payback time for the left and the seats were full for the show trial.
1998		R. Ro Have Gun 7: Tupac [...] was murdered in a ‘payback’ drive-by shooting.