paying down

verb

present participle of pay down
as in paying off

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for paying down
  1. paying off
  2. paying up
Verb
  • Capitalizing on the tide of anti-Rhaenyra sentiment rising among the peasants of King's Landing, Ormund plots to sow further unrest by paying off a band of smallfolk to brutally torture and kill members of the City Watch.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 20 July 2026
  • Administrators at the school say a shift in focus to technical training and career readiness is paying off, with more students not only staying in school but graduating on time.
    — Savannah Peters, Fortune, 13 July 2026
Definition of paying off
Verb
  • The provision says the members of the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization who voted in May to rescind support for the toll lane project have 90 days to reverse their position to avoid paying up.
    — Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 9 July 2026
  • The Redevelopment Commission on Thursday authorized paying up to $35,000 to buy a partial parcel to extend the road being created in front of Portage Mall south beyond the Stone Quarry and possibly as far south as Central Avenue.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026
Definition of paying up
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.

Browse Nearby Words

paying back
paying down
paying (for)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Paying down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paying%20down. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of maverick

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All