Synonyms of pay off

pay off 1 of 3

verb

1

as in to pay

to give what is owed for

I finally paid off the loan

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pay
• pay up
• meet
• settle
• balance
• spring (for)
• stand
• pony up
• ante (up)
• foot
• liquidate
• discharge
• quit
• clear
• recompense

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• repudiate

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

• bribe
• get at
• buy
• lure
• have
• seduce
• poison
• provoke
• entice
• corrupt
• persuade
• square
• tempt
• lead on
• oil the hand of
• tamper (with)
• grease the hand of
• induce
• subvert
• spur
• motivate
• dishonor
• taint
• prostitute
• bait
• stimulate
• degrade
• debauch
• deprave
• debase
• trap
• defile
• pervert
• demean
• warp
• abase
• allure
• profane
• fix
• goad
• beguile
• flatter
• snare

payoff

2 of 3

noun

ˈpā-ˌȯf 

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

• profit
• earnings
• proceeds
• gain
• return
• income
• salary
• net
• windfall
• lucre
• sales
• cleanup
• revenue
• payment
• wages
• killing
• pay
• compensation
• bottom line
• yield
• interest
• gross
• emolument
• remittal
• requital

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cost
• expense
• loss
• expenditure
• charge
• outlay
• disbursement
• outgo

payoff

3 of 3

adjective

as in pivotal

Related Words

• pivotal
• watershed
• decisive
• deciding
• earthshaking
• epochal
• momentous
• make-or-break
• crucial
• life-and-death
• cataclysmal
• critical
• crossover
• fateful
• crowning
• climactic
• culminating
• highest
• vital
• crestal
• apocalyptic
• go-no-go
• apical
• meridian
• climacteric
• high
• apogean

Dissimilar Words

• trivial
• insignificant
• unimportant
• anticlimactic
• inconsequential
• indecisive
• noncritical

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pay off

Verb

Although firms are bullish on AI’s potential, the technology has not yet paid off, and investors are reacting to uncertainty about its actual value. —Jake Angelo, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026

While Amazon's strategy should ultimately pay off, investors should expect more volatility in the short term. —Paulina Likos, CNBC, 6 Feb. 2026

Noun

But this sport reserves its greatest rewards for the exceptional while demanding so much that exceptional seems the only acceptable payoff. —Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026

While this can be a fun way to showcase your unique personality and style, Interior designer Lauren Lerner says the payoff from this design choice fades rather quickly. —Ashlyn Needham, The Spruce, 4 Feb. 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