Synonyms of payoff

pay off 1 of 3

verb

1

as in to pay

to give what is owed for

I finally paid off the loan

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pay
• pay up
• meet
• settle
• balance
• spring (for)
• stand
• pony up
• ante (up)
• foot
• liquidate
• discharge
• quit
• clear
• recompense

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• repudiate

2

as in to bribe

to influence someone with a bribe

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bribe
• get at
• buy
• have
• lure
• seduce
• poison
• provoke
• entice
• corrupt
• persuade
• square
• tempt
• grease the palm of
• oil the palm of
• lead on
• oil the hand of
• tamper (with)
• grease the hand of
• induce
• subvert
• spur
• motivate
• dishonor
• taint
• prostitute
• bait
• stimulate
• degrade
• debauch
• deprave
• trap
• debase
• defile
• pervert
• demean
• warp
• abase
• allure
• profane
• fix
• goad
• beguile
• flatter
• snare

payoff

2 of 3

noun

ˈpā-ˌȯf 

as in profit

the amount of money left when expenses are subtracted from the total amount received

the payoff on the investment was only about $500

Synonyms & Similar Words

• profit
• earnings
• proceeds
• gain
• return
• income
• salary
• net
• windfall
• lucre
• sales
• cleanup
• revenue
• payment
• wages
• killing
• pay
• compensation
• bottom line
• yield
• interest
• gross
• emolument
• remittal
• requital

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cost
• expense
• loss
• expenditure
• charge
• outlay
• disbursement
• outgo

payoff

3 of 3

adjective

as in pivotal

Related Words

• pivotal
• cataclysmic
• watershed
• decisive
• deciding
• earthshaking
• epochal
• momentous
• make-or-break
• life-or-death
• crucial
• life-and-death
• cataclysmal
• critical
• crossover
• fateful
• crowning
• climactic
• culminating
• highest
• vital
• crestal
• apocalyptic
• go-no-go
• apical
• meridian
• apocalyptical
• climacteric
• high
• apogean

Dissimilar Words

• anticlimactic
• trivial
• insignificant
• unimportant
• inconsequential
• anticlimactical
• indecisive
• noncritical

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of payoff

Verb

Not wrong for much of the last three decades — but Saturday night’s gig, and all the joyous revelry surrounding it, showed why the Live ’25 Tour has been payoff enough for none of them to look back in anger at any of it. —Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Aug. 2025

Noun

Her careful attention to nature and the art of blending paid off; this vintage received ratings of 94, 97, and 99 from a variety of renowned scoring publications. —Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 21 Sep. 2025

TikTok star Charli D'Amelio's competitive dance background paid off for her and pro Mark Ballas, who were declared the season 31 winners. —Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Sep. 2025

Adjective

While the investment is certainly worth the payoff, getting your hands on anything Le Creuset isn’t always easy, but right now, Amazon just slashed prices on some of the brand’s most beloved pieces for up to 56 percent off. —Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2025

But the payoff was just absolutely fantastic. —Sabienna Bowman, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2025