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

Five goals and five assists in 29 league appearances show that such work on the training ground has paid off. —Andy Jones, New York Times, 10 June 2026

This time, however, the Hurricanes had the defense and timely saves by Brandon Bussi, who head coach Rod Brind’Amour went with over Frederik Anderson, and the decision paid off. —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026

Michele Kang, a billionaire entrepreneur, has made consistent bets on the growth of women’s sports—investments that should pay off given rising viewership, attendance, and valuations for teams and leagues. —Sean Gregory, Time, 9 June 2026

Breaking that cycle pays off quickly. —Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 9 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