prepay

1 of 2

verb

pre·​pay (ˌ)prē-ˈpā 

prepaid (ˌ)prē-ˈpād  ; prepaying

transitive verb

: to pay or pay the charge on in advance

prepayment

(ˌ)prē-ˈpā-mənt 

noun

prepayment

2 of 2

noun

pre·​payment "+ 

: payment in advance

Examples of prepay in a Sentence

Verb

Special orders must be prepaid.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Both survived and dominated not by staying there, but by expanding into debit, prepaid, contactless, mobile and now real-time payment infrastructure. — Yariv Cohen, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Procura will receive funding through a bank syndicate led by JPMorgan Chase and Banco Santander to prepay select suppliers on behalf of GM. — Michael Wayland, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026

Federal law does prohibit surcharges on cash, prepaid and debit card transactions, however. — Liz Weston, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 July 2026

Previously, Buc-ee's customers could prepay with bank cards (debit or credit), cash or gift cards inside chain locations. — Greta Cross, USA Today, 14 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

pre- + payment

First Known Use

Verb

1839, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for prepay

• airway
• allay
• archway
• array
• ashtray
• assez
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway

Kids Definition

prepay

verb

pre·​pay (ˈ)prē-ˈpā 

prepaid -ˈpād  ; prepaying

: to pay or pay for in advance

prepayment

-ˈpā-mənt 

noun

Legal Definition

prepay

transitive verb

pre·​pay prē-ˈpā 

prepaid; prepaying

: to pay or pay the charge on in advance (as of date due or maturity date)

no penalty for prepaying your student loan

prepayment noun