From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcompensatecom‧pen‧sate /ˈkɒmpənseɪt $ ˈkɑːm-/ ●○○ AWL verb 1 [intransitive]EQUAL to replace or balance the effect of something bad Because my left eye is so weak, my right eye has to work harder to compensate.compensate for Her intelligence more than compensates for her lack of experience.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say make up for something rather than compensate for something:What she lacks in patience she makes up for in determination.2 [transitive]BFPAY FOR to pay someone money because they have suffered injury, loss, or damage the government’s promise to compensate victims of the floodcompensate somebody for something The firm will compensate workers for their loss of earnings.GRAMMAR: Patterns with compensate• Something compensates for something: Nothing can compensate for this loss. ✗Don’t say: Nothing can compensate this loss.• You compensate someone for something: We will compensate you for your expenses. ✗Don’t say: We will compensate you your expenses.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
compensate• Capital, like labor, was compensated at a rate corresponding to its marginal product.• He was compensated by being raised, on 19 June 1627, to the earldom of Sunderland.• Your brain will think it's boiling outside, and compensate by cooling your skin down with a film of sweat.• Photography could compensate for certain deficiencies in nature.• Given diminishing marginal utility of income, more income in one period can not compensate for lower income in another period.• No amount of money can compensate for my father's death.• The workers have still not been compensated for their loss of wages.• People are entitled to be compensated fully whenever they are injured by others' carelessness.• She had also expressed great anxiety as to who was to compensate her for the loss of her fences and crop.• To compensate, I told him to move to his left on the return of the serve.• The fund will compensate victims of smoking-related diseases.• If the company refuses to compensate you, you can take your complaint to small-claims court, Sack said.compensate for• Failures in this area will have to be compensated for by successes in other areas.• More women will be promoted in order to compensate for discrimination in the past.• Ray tries to compensate for his shyness by telling a lot of jokes.• It is hoped that the new car's style and design will compensate for its lack of speed.compensate somebody for something• The firm was ordered to compensate clients for their losses.From Longman Business Dictionarycompensatecom‧pen‧sate /ˈkɒmpənseɪtˈkɑːm-/ verb [intransitive, transitive]1to pay someone money because they have suffered injury, loss, or damagecompensate somebody for somethingHe has promised to compensate farmers for the price cuts.2American EnglishHUMAN RESOURCES to pay someone in money and other ways for work that they doNobody knows if compensating executives better makes their companies perform any better.→ See Verb tableOrigin compensate (1600-1700) Latin past participle of compensare, from compendere; → COMPENDIUM 