as in to pay off
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Recent Examples of pay down
Trump said Tuesday that revenue from the tariffs—which brought in $289 billion last year—will be used to issue the checks as well as pay down the national debt.
—
Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Among them is setting the incentive district’s sales tax revenue baseline that will determine how much tax growth can be diverted from other government priorities to pay down STAR bond debt.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 18 Jan. 2026
Even a small drop in your rate can free up cash to pay down debt faster or add to savings.
—Essence, 14 Jan. 2026
In addition, a year ago the Cubs had to pay down Bellinger’s salary in order to trade him to the Yankees.
—Jim Bowden, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pay down
Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Among them is setting the incentive district’s sales tax revenue baseline that will determine how much tax growth can be diverted from other government priorities to pay down STAR bond debt.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 18 Jan. 2026
Even a small drop in your rate can free up cash to pay down debt faster or add to savings.
—Essence, 14 Jan. 2026
In addition, a year ago the Cubs had to pay down Bellinger’s salary in order to trade him to the Yankees.
—Jim Bowden, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pay down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pay down
Verb
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Lamont pointed out that the state has paid off $10 billion in debt.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
7 Feb. 2026
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Those Fourth of July pow-wows had paid off.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The marketing department came up with a tale to satisfy their curiosity.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
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There's no way to satisfy all of us with all of our ideas.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pay down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pay%20down. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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