paying 1 of 3

Definition of payingnext

paying

2 of 3

noun

as in payment
the act of offering money in exchange for goods or services the actual shopping was quick, but with the long lines, paying for the stuff seemed to take forever

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

paying

3 of 3

verb

present participle of pay
1
as in compensating
to give (someone) the sum of money owed for goods or services received we need to pay the cashier and then we can leave

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3
4
as in giving
to produce as revenue an investment paying six percent

Synonyms & Similar Words

5

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of paying
Adjective
The idea is to remove non-paying riders, often who are homeless, mentally ill or taking illicit drugs, from the system. Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 15 Jan. 2026 All roles are open and non-paying. Staff Report, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026 Customers will still be able to preload $35 for unlimited seven-day travel onto an OMNY card — riding free after paying for 12 trips in any seven-day period — though pre-paying is not required for the unlimited rides. Lincoln Anderson, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2026 Under Niccol, Starbucks has brought back its tradition of baristas doodling on cups in Sharpie pens; reinstated self-serve milk and sugar stations; cut 30% of the food and drink menu; ended its open-bathroom policy for non-paying customers; and laid off 1,100 corporate employees in February. Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025 So, while a paying customer willing to spend $100 on a coin bundle will typically receive around 100 Sweeps Coins as a bonus, the non-paying customer who mails in a postcard is capped at 5 Sweeps Coins – a nominal amount. Daniel Wallach, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Noun
Is your job one of the highest paying in Kentucky? Olivia Evans, Louisville Courier Journal, 17 Mar. 2026 The inevitable capitalistic evolution of the House settlement that allowed for the paying of athletes guaranteed there would be winners and losers, and the winners are – no surprise – the signal-callers. Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 2026 Balanced growth, roads and other infrastructure, continuing a positive approach to economic development, attracting industry and high paying jobs. Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2025 Notably, Ditto is the best paying of the three, but doesn’t accept freelancers from California, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
Alan’s brother, Merrill Osmond, 72, was among those paying tribute. Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026 Wrestlers operated as independent contractors, and this allowed the McMahons to avoid paying benefits. Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026 But for this season, Lou said American shoppers will likely be stuck paying at least 15% more. Eunice Yoon, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026 Think about caring for an ill mate, losing income because of having to give up your job, having difficulty paying your bills and suffering from painful arthritis while serving as the unpaid caregiver. Helen Dennis, Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026 New York has taken a different approach, and ordinary New Yorkers are paying the price every month through their utility bills. Nicole Malliotakis, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026 The company representative said all that's necessary to start hauling for them is federal authorization, which requires proof of minimal insurance and paying a $300 fee online. Michael Kaplan, CBS News, 19 Apr. 2026 With airfares and fees on the rise, consumers still can make choices that determine how much of their travel budgets will get taken up by paying to get to and from their destinations. ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026 Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, which quietly became the longest-running Black sitcom in television history while most of the critical establishment wasn’t paying attention. Geoff Bennett, The Atlantic, 13 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paying
Adjective
  • Convenience store gas sales are not as profitable as bringing people inside from the pumps.
    Mead Gruver, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026
  • In 1949, Arthur Miller envisioned the American Dream as a kind of spiritual opioid crisis — a profitable system of addiction, this one to a beautiful lie, that was literally killing people.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In addition, records show that Smedley received an advance payment of $2,625 in 2018 of his stipend as a city council member that is normally paid quarterly.
    Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026
  • The plan would allow the charter NFL franchise to make special payments to taxing bodies in the northwest suburbs — known as Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT — rather than paying regular property taxes.
    Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • After the project stalled in 2014, Epstein heightened his communication with Gates and his deputies, seemingly trying to pressure the billionaire into supporting the fund and compensating him for funding Antonova’s schooling and housing.
    Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Insurance agencies often provide low initial offers when compensating victims because they’re incentivized to do so, and this understandably leaves said victims in a difficult situation.
    Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • At a lawn party devoted to the game of cornhole, Clark flirts with Floyd’s wife and the two soon begin an affair, meeting for afternoon assignations at the local Quality Garden Suites.
    Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026
  • But there was a mountain high enough to keep film Ross from meeting Jackson.
    Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Guro Reiten is sitting inside her apartment in Norway, in between spending time with her 5-month-old son and packing her life away.
    Melanie Anzidei, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
  • After a backlash, Kennedy has also pivoted to spending more time talking about less controversial topics like healthy eating — albeit with his own spin, including sharing exaggerated claims that various ailments can be cured by diet alone.
    ABC News, ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen had a dreadful Game 2 before giving way to Lyon in the third period.
    Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
  • How absurd, indeed, to imagine wild birds giving time like the mechanical songsters on an ornamental clock.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • The upside is there’s a huge potential for employing people to check code.
    Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
  • What’s more, all of them operate or are members of outside media ventures, meaning that MS NOW, NBC News, CBS News and others are hitching their corporate fortunes to people whose top priority may be the health of their own endeavors and not always those of the company employing them.
    Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • When combined with the store’s credit card, deals can be even more lucrative.
    Liz Knueven,Ryley Amond, CNBC, 11 Apr. 2026
  • Peterson, however, says this would worsen the area’s housing challenges by taking away units from the long-term rentals market, as landlords may find shorter deals more lucrative.
    Adam Crafton, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Paying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paying. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.

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