pay down

verb

paid down; paying down; pays down

transitive verb

: to reduce (a debt) by repaying in part

Examples of pay down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
GamFin offers financial counseling, including help with budgeting and paying down debt, to anyone from a family in which one member has a gambling addiction. Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025 This year, Occidental has been selling off some of its assets in the Permian Basin to generate $950 million to pay down debt. Dave Smith, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025 If voters reject the proposals, however, taxes could go toward paying down current bonds faster. Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025 That advantage carries over to refinancing because 15-year borrowers pay down principal faster and, therefore, recoup their refinancing costs much sooner. Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pay down

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pay down was in 1975

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Cite this Entry

“Pay down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pay%20down. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.

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