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

To be sure, early evidence of productivity gains does not mean every AI investment will pay off. — Andrew Graham, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

But according to court documents, Gardner’s father was willing to pay off Bridegan to get rid of him, WJXT reported. — Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026

Noun

The environmental payoff Seasonal eating also cuts down on food miles, the long-distance transport that out-of-season produce racks up on its way to your plate. — Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 14 Aug. 2026

But for Hannah, the payoff goes beyond the financial investment that the couple put in. — Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026

Adjective

There’s little sense of forward motion in these tracks, but even when simply drifting in place, the blend of atmosphere and physicality—sunset glow meets seismic throb—is payoff enough. — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026

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