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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
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pivotal
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of pay off
Tim Crowley, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
The students documented its growth online and barely contained their excitement when their efforts paid off, said Jeffrey Underwood, a science coordinator at Roseville High School.
—Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 31 Oct. 2025
John Roy, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2025
The Party City tag is a cute payoff too.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Oct. 2025
Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pay off
Verb
The Blue Jays' financial commitment paid off among the highest payrolls in the sport.
—Tim Crowley, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
The students documented its growth online and barely contained their excitement when their efforts paid off, said Jeffrey Underwood, a science coordinator at Roseville High School.
—Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Noun
Every joke relies on some level of misdirection, but the payoff is usually immediate.
—John Roy, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2025
The Party City tag is a cute payoff too.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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
See All Example Sentences for pay off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pay off
Verb
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Adding another big contract would have been prohibitive ahead of an offseason where the Ravens will want to pay center Tyler Linderbaum, nose tackle Travis Jones, tight end Isaiah Likely and several others.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
5 Nov. 2025
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On Tuesday, supervisors also unanimously passed a measure calling on the federal government to immediately start paying SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Police were dispatched to the scene and the owner eventually lured the pet back down to the ground by bribing it with a cookie.—
Ella Gonzales,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 Oct. 2025
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While a dog can be bribed with a squeaky toy and a pig would surely look at the camera when enticed with a sausage on a stick, cats are known for their admirably self-serving demeanors.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Swain quickly turned directs into Triago’s profit driver.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Nov. 2025
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Start with these profit boosts before checking out all the other ways to bet on the NBA, NHL, college football, World Series and NFL.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Here’s a collection of our stories from the Dodgers’ most pivotal moments in 2025.—
Levi Weaver,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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Midway through November, however, Chicago will face Minnesota again in what should be a pivotal matchup, and safety Jaquan Brisker is already prepared for it.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Fast-food restaurants, once the first stop for Americans looking to get at least one meal in before a long work day, are fighting to win back customers.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
1 Sep. 2025
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Compared with Let’s Move’s easygoing recommendations—children should get at least one hour of physical activity each day, and everyone should drink one more glass of water—MAHA is also considerably more macho.—
Tom Bartlett,
The Atlantic,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Already, the government of Bangladesh has limited control over the country’s water supply because only about 7% of the watershed area of the Brahmaputra, Meghna and Ganges – the three main rivers that flow into the country – are within Bangladesh.—
Pintu Kumar Mahla,
The Conversation,
3 Nov. 2025
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Its release coincided with the 350th anniversary of Christiaan Huygens’ invention of the spiral spring, a watershed moment for watchmaking.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Determined to stop the anti-imperial policies of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, British and French representatives met with Israeli officials in October 1956 to forge a secret agreement for a coordinated offensive against Egypt.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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The leaders of the world's biggest economies met at the airport in Busan, an hour's drive away from the APEC host city of Gyeongju, for just an hour and 40 minutes.—
Se Eun Gong,
NPR,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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That's how people buy aviation—safety and cost.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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While reflecting on her first performance, Furtado remembered buying the pink dress from a store called Original on Queen West in Toronto, and also picking up some sparkly platform shoes for the monumental moment.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pay off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pay%20off. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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