# back pay

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A withheld payment for work which has already been completed, or which could have been completed had the employee not been prevented from doing so.
2. Pay received by an employee from an increase awarded retrospectively, and backdated.

## Etymology
From back + pay.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/back-pay