payroll

noun

pay·​roll ˈpā-ˌrōl 

1

: a paymaster's or employer's list of those entitled to pay and of the amounts due to each

2

: the sum necessary for distribution to those on a payroll

also : the money to be distributed

Examples of payroll in a Sentence

They cut him from their payroll.

He's the manager of a baseball team with a $50 million payroll.

Businesses are keeping their payrolls low by embracing new technologies.

Recent Examples on the Web

Employment in health care again drove payroll gains in January, adding 82,000 jobs. —Rachel Barber, USA Today, 12 Feb. 2026

Hiring was strongest in the health care sector, which added 82,000 jobs last month, representing 60% of new jobs in January, followed by social assistance, with 42,000 payroll gains. —Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026

Indeed, after annual revisions, payroll growth averaged just 15,000 jobs per month in 2025, anemic by any historical standard outside a recession. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026

TeachRock’s time and resources were free to the state — its parent organization, The Rock and Soul Forever Foundation, funds its work — and the department employees who worked on it were already on the payroll. —Theo Peck-Suzuki, Hartford Courant, 11 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1740, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing payroll

• payroll deduction
• payroll tax

Rhymes for payroll

• bankroll
• bedroll
• borehole
• cajole
• catchpole
• charcoal
• condole
• control
• dipole
• downhole
• enroll
• extol

Kids Definition

payroll

noun

pay·​roll ˈpā-ˌrōl 

1

: a list of persons entitled to receive pay with the amounts due to each

2

: the amount of money necessary to pay those on a payroll