rétribuer means “pay” | MotiTan French Dictionary

More examples

Le festival a décidé de rétribuer les artistes pour leurs prestations.

The festival decided to pay the artists for their performances.

A worker receives money or a reward in return for completed work or a service.

payer: Make a monetary payment for goods or services, or pay wages.
rémunérer: Pay wages or other compensation for work or labor.

Donner une récompense ou un paiement en retour d'un travail ou d'un service.

Rétribuer comes from Latin retribuere, formed from re- 'back' and tribuere 'assign or give', with the sense of giving something in return.

Rétribuer is formal and often written, while payer and rémunérer are more common in everyday speech.