1
2
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
ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
The moment causes Byron, a selfish and braggadocious villain, to have a change of heart, stopping shipments of The Beauty and paying off the families ravaged by its gruesome side effects, like Bella’s.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 5 Mar. 2026
Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 3 Mar. 2026
The drone footage of the skiers descending the dizzying glacier is quite the payoff.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 3 Mar. 2026
Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pay off
Verb
The Telegraph group, previously owned by Britain’s Barclay family, was put up for sale in 2023 to help pay off the family’s debts.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
The moment causes Byron, a selfish and braggadocious villain, to have a change of heart, stopping shipments of The Beauty and paying off the families ravaged by its gruesome side effects, like Bella’s.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 5 Mar. 2026
Noun
Though this region often gets painted with a broad brush of leafy palm trees and clear water, the payoff of exploring these islands—one by one—is revealing the distinct cultures and landscapes each destination brings to the table.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 3 Mar. 2026
The drone footage of the skiers descending the dizzying glacier is quite the payoff.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 3 Mar. 2026
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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Tech giants are buying up memory chips like never before, and paying a premium for multiyear contracts.—
Nasteho Said,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
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This should be exciting news for the 1 in 6 Americans who deal with infertility, especially those without health insurance or paying out-of-pocket because of inadequate coverage.—
Anna Moeslein,
Glamour,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Kissing Is The Easy Part, meanwhile, follows a romance that blossom after a perfect student is bribed to tutor a rebellious wild child.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
3 Mar. 2026
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The indictment alleges the Sansons sought to bribe an Antioch City Council member to place the project on a City Council agenda and secure a favorable vote on a 533-home subdivision.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Komarow then allegedly used the brokerage accounts to conduct high-risk, short-term options trading in an attempt to make immediate profits to cover his insufficient funds, officials said.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
4 Mar. 2026
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The label, founded 25 years ago, has not turned a profit since 2017, yet McCartney chose full independence.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But for now, in what many fans have called the most pivotal trade deadline in decades, management has a lot of work to do.—
Jeremy Rutherford,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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The sculpture depicts Krishna, the protector, raising a mountain with his left arm to shield cowherds from the wrathful storm unleashed by Indra—a pivotal motif in Khmer art.—
Li Qi,
Artforum,
6 Mar. 2026
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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There’s a watershed moment that still sticks with Wild general manager Bill Guerin however many years later.—
Dane Mizutani,
Twin Cities,
5 Mar. 2026
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For an industry long resistant to change, this is a watershed moment.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That will make meeting exponential demand for chips expensive—and maybe even impossible.—
Nasteho Said,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
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Turkey has been further enhancing its border defenses to be able to respond to a potential influx of people fleeing unrest after mass antigovernment protests in Iran were met by a brutal crackdown in January that left thousands dead.—
Serra Yedikardes,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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His father bought him the plane ticket after Jeffrey found himself in a bit of a boredom rut with friends and getting into the wrong kind of trouble.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
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Embrace the slightly dystopian vibe and buy a bag of pellets from one of the old-timey pioneer stores to hand-feed the furry descendants.—
Zoey Goto,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pay off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pay%20off. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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