1
as in paying
to give what is owed for
I finally paid off the loan
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bribing
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 paying up
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 off
Katie Thornton, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
After years of struggling, cattle raisers are paying off debt and building out their operational infrastructures.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Oct. 2025
Shares jumped that session as Wall Street saw that BlackRock’s pursuit of growth outside of its lower-cost stock and bond funds was paying off.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2025
All the hard work ended up paying off as Handy pulled off his wedding-day duties with ease.
—Michael Nied, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
Customers can enroll by putting down a $10 deposit, then paying off the overdue balance over 36 months, on top of the regular bill.
—Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 17 Oct. 2025
The Dodgers' 2025 regular season did not go as many baseball experts expected, with the team battling several injuries throughout the roster and several big-money signings not paying off.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
This approach is already paying off in some high-impact areas.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
Colorado's efforts are paying off.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
The experiments were paying off.
—Katie Thornton, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
After years of struggling, cattle raisers are paying off debt and building out their operational infrastructures.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Oct. 2025
Shares jumped that session as Wall Street saw that BlackRock’s pursuit of growth outside of its lower-cost stock and bond funds was paying off.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2025
All the hard work ended up paying off as Handy pulled off his wedding-day duties with ease.
—Michael Nied, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
Customers can enroll by putting down a $10 deposit, then paying off the overdue balance over 36 months, on top of the regular bill.
—Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 17 Oct. 2025
The Dodgers' 2025 regular season did not go as many baseball experts expected, with the team battling several injuries throughout the roster and several big-money signings not paying off.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
This approach is already paying off in some high-impact areas.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
Colorado's efforts are paying off.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 26 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paying off
Verb
-
David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty Images Coding assistants have been some of the early winners of the generative AI rush, becoming the first real application type to attract a hefty number of paying users.—
Samantha Subin,
CNBC,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Meanwhile, individual coverage topped $9,300, on average, this year, up 5% – with employees shouldering $1,440 of the cost and employers paying the rest.—
Tami Luhby,
CNN Money,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Department of Justice brought charges Thursday against the voting machine company Smartmatic, accusing it of allegedly bribing an official in the Philippines to win contracts, according to court papers filed in the Southern District of Florida.—
Olivia Rubin,
ABC News,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Then, in February of this year, Coral Gables criminal defese attorney David Macey was indicted along with Pagan on charges of bribing Costanzo in a scheme to obtain confidential information about drug-trafficking suspects to recruit them as potential clients for his law firm.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The owner doesn’t have to pay the prepayment penalty that is very common in commercial real estate.—
Diana Olick,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Billups was arrested less than nine hours after Portland’s season-opening season-opening loss at home, a game notably attended by the team’s current owner and a financier in the process of buying the franchise.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
-
If length is typically a determining factor when buying pants, the trousers are available in three inseam options to ensure shoppers of all heights can find the right fit.—
Rachel Trujillo,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Under the agreement reached Friday between the teachers union and the administration, the Education Department will process loan forgiveness for those eligible in certain repayment plans that offer lower monthly payments based on a borrower’s earnings.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
22 Oct. 2025
-
To attract candidates, the agency is offering a range of incentives, including signing bonuses of up to $50,000 and student loan repayment programs.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But the federal government works on a reimbursement system and doesn’t report wages to the state, adding some extra steps.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
18 Oct. 2025
-
The benefit provides greater flexibility for travelers by allowing eligible cardholders to cancel or change flights for any reason up to two days before departure, and receive up to 75 percent reimbursement for nonrefundable costs.—
Ben Kelly,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paying off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paying%20off. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share