pay dearly
idiom
: to suffer a lot as a result of something one has done
She paid dearly for her mistakes.
Examples of pay dearly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The choice is clear for Republicans as the July 18 deadline approaches: cut now or pay dearly later.
—
Erick Erickson, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 July 2025
Communities that ignore the first crack pay dearly when the whole block splinters.
—Edgar Domenech, Sun Sentinel, 18 June 2025
Those who can get their children into child care will pay dearly for it — 18% of median income for a two-income household, the highest in the nation.
—Scott Cohn, CNBC, 14 July 2025
But the love never came, the slaughter continued, and Mexican troops made the American invaders pay dearly in blood.
—Enrique Krauze, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2013
See All Example Sentences for pay dearly
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Erick Erickson, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 July 2025
Communities that ignore the first crack pay dearly when the whole block splinters.
—Edgar Domenech, Sun Sentinel, 18 June 2025
Those who can get their children into child care will pay dearly for it — 18% of median income for a two-income household, the highest in the nation.
—Scott Cohn, CNBC, 14 July 2025
But the love never came, the slaughter continued, and Mexican troops made the American invaders pay dearly in blood.
—Enrique Krauze, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2013
See All Example Sentences for pay dearly
Cite this Entry
“Pay dearly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pay%20dearly. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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