paying 1 of 3

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 mini model is the free version available for non-paying subscribers. — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026 Biancardi said under the Indiana state code, the council can appoint one of its members in a non-paying, ex officio capacity to oversee the clerk-treasurer’s office. — Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026 The feature arrives weeks after Google started reducing the default storage for non-paying accounts from 15GB to just 5GB in some regions. — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 3 June 2026 All roles are open and non-paying. — Staff Report, Baltimore Sun, 29 Apr. 2026 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 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
In April, the SPLC was charged as an organization with bank fraud and money laundering offenses related to its paying of informants to infiltrate hate groups. — Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026 The affordability crisis extends to healthcare, housing, and access to good paying jobs. — Elijah Manley, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026 The survey shows who will be doing more of the paying. — Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 14 May 2026 And many of the jobs that were created are part-time or low paying. — Justin Mayo, New York Times, 12 May 2026 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
The urge is then to try to make the financial case for paying those up-front costs, with now-rancorous calls for ‘scaling up’ investments in mitigation technologies. — Stephanie Walton, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2026 The White House hasn’t responded to inquiries about which part of the government is paying. — Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026 Rivera continued paying the property taxes, prosecutors said, including a $14,095 payment in March. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 29 Sep. 2026 Brandy recalled Makai being frustrated when other kids weren’t paying attention during a baseball game. — Mariah Alanskas, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2026 Lee’s fiction, like 19th-century novels, seeks to engender sympathy by paying close attention to the lives of many varied characters. — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026 That raised their borrowing costs — the US will spend more money this year paying interest on the national debt than on its military — which leaves less to cushion the economic fallout. — Jake Angelo, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2026 For defendants hoping to avoid jail and walk away from millions of dollars in financial sanctions, paying, say, US$600,000 to a lobbying firm to influence the president may seem like a good investment. — Caren Morrison, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026 The only way the US could protect a species was by paying landowners to acquire land, not by imposing costs on private landowners, Scalia argued. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paying
Adjective
  • The company is counting on the giant rocket to scale its Starlink, or Connectivity, business, which was its largest and only profitable segment as of the second quarter.
    — Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The system helps improve services and is also profitable for providers, creating a win-win situation both for vendors and consumers.
    — Masayuki Oi Japan News, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The treasurer’s office says the administrative cost of processing very small payments can exceed their value.
    — Mark Lewyn, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Businesses have previously voiced concern about the concentration of power in the two main payment providers.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • But increasingly, given the cost of not only managing grizzlies but compensating ranchers for livestock loss, the discussion has turned to budgets.
    — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Schools are directly compensating athletes under the post-House settlement model, third-party NIL remains an important source of income, and athletes routinely make career decisions involving millions of dollars.
    — Chris Corr, Sportico.com, 17 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Acceptance of the former is advancing, with more than 50 countries meeting in Colombia this year to grapple with how exactly to do it.
    — Stephanie Walton, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2026
  • But Kye is insecure about the scars on his chest and on his head, so the girl agrees to blindfold herself with a silk scarf before meeting him.
    — S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The BofA analysis found big growth in per-person video-game spending across age groups in the 12 months to August, with even Gen Z, the generation with the smallest increase, spending 20% more.
    — Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Sure, like in the Ohio Senate race, just on the reservations for media that are on the books now, Republicans are spending a hundred plus million dollars, Sherrod Brown spending $55 million.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Stratolaunch is adding a Boeing 777-200ER to its hypersonic testing fleet, giving the company another aircraft capable of carrying its Talon-A vehicles into the air.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Netflix has unveiled a collaboration with Spanish streamer Filmin, giving Netflix members in Spain access to a monthly selection of films and documentaries, curated by Filmin’s editorial team.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The cost of employing workers building single-family homes jumped 37% between 2018 and 2022 and 45% from 2014 to 2023, the report said.
    — Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 26 Sep. 2026
  • This is unlikely to stop politicians from employing scare tactics, though.
    — Matt Calkins OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • But while many comedians go on to have wildly lucrative careers, that doesn’t seem to be Earthquake’s priority — making people laugh is.
    — Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Taste is the discernment to reject opportunities that look lucrative on paper but conflict with your core identity.
    — David Farbman, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Paying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paying. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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