Recompense means to pay someone back or make up for something, especially when they've suffered a loss or done work that deserves a reward. When a store accidentally sells you a broken toy, they might recompense you by giving you a new one or refunding your money. If your neighbor helps you move heavy furniture, you might recompense them by baking cookies or helping them with a project.

The word carries a sense of fairness and balance: it's about restoring what's right after a wrong or recognizing effort that deserves recognition. A company might recompense workers for overtime hours. A court might order someone to recompense a person they've harmed.

Recompense can also be used as a noun, meaning the actual payment or compensation itself. If you lose your jacket at school and someone returns it, you might offer a small recompense as a thank-you. The word suggests a deliberate effort to balance the scales, acknowledging that someone deserves something in return for what they've given or what they've lost.