pay off

verb

paid off; paying off; pays off

transitive verb

1

a

: to pay (a debt or a creditor) in full

b

: to give all due wages to

especially : to pay in full and discharge (an employee)

c

: bribe

2

: to inflict retribution on

3

: to allow (a thread or rope) to run off a spool or drum

intransitive verb

: to yield returns

Synonyms of pay off

• pay
• pay up
• meet

Examples of pay off in a Sentence

I finally paid off the loan.

she paid off the security guard so that she could steal whatever she liked

Recent Examples on the Web

For the first four Sky games, the extensive gambles taken by the front office — not just this season but for years — seemed to be paying off in a surprising 3-1 road trip. —Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2026

The hours of sleuthing the world’s largest online retailer for its early Prime Day deals under $100 has finally paid off, and the sale hasn’t even kicked off yet. —Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 2 June 2026

Discipline pays off behind the scenes as the sun harmonizes with Saturn. —Usa Today, USA Today, 2 June 2026

Guijarro isn’t yelling as much and her newfound patience has paid off. —Ethan Hanson, Daily News, 2 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for pay off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

payoff

1 of 2 noun

pay·​off

ˈpā-ˌȯf

1

: profit entry 1 sense 2

2

: the last and most interesting part of an incident

the payoff of a story

pay off

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)pā-ˈȯf

1

: to pay in full

pay off a mortgage

2

: to produce a profit

investments that pay off

Legal Definition

payoff

1 of 2 noun

pay·​off ˈpā-ˌȯf 

1

: the act or an instance of paying someone off : bribe compare kickback

2

: the act of paying a debt or creditor in full

would release the lien upon the payoff of the balance

pay off

2 of 2 transitive verb

1

: to pay (a debt or credit) in full

the loan was paid off

2

: bribe