pay off 1 of 3

verb

Definition of pay offnext
1
as in to pay
to give what is owed for I finally paid off the loan

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

payoff

2 of 3

noun

ˈpā-ˌȯf How to pronounce payoff (audio)
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

payoff

3 of 3

adjective

as in pivotal

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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 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 See All Example Sentences for pay off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pay off
  1. pay
  2. bribe
  3. profit
  4. pivotal
  5. meet
  6. get at
  7. watershed
  8. buy
Verb
  • Critics argue such arrangements force consumers to pay for surplus electricity, although Manga said such guarantees were necessary to secure financing for capital-intensive projects.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • For Medicare patients, doctors are paid an additional 6% of the drug’s average price for each infusion.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of pay
Verb
  • The incidents continued back in Maryland, including outside a Chipotle, where Garcia allegedly tried to bribe the victim to touch himself in exchange for food.
    — Bryan Lynn, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • At a press conference Thursday afternoon, LeVota denied the allegations but identified Legislator DaRon McGee as the candidate that federal prosecutors are accusing LeVota of bribing.
    — Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of bribe
Noun
  • Toyota, Honda and Nissan benefited in their most recent quarterly reports from a historically weak currency, with the first two upgrading their full-year forecasts and the latter seeing its first profit in about two years.
    — Justina Lee, CNBC, 17 Aug. 2026
  • This event is run entirely by museum volunteers, and all profits will benefit museum operations.
    — Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of profit
Adjective
  • The Tiananmen Square crackdown was a pivotal moment in China’s modern history, showing that the market reform that transformed the country into the world’s second-largest economy would not be coupled with political liberalization.
    — Kanis Leung, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • But considered closer, Frankie’s insult to his sister sets up a pivotal moment later.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of pivotal
Verb
  • Where sacred meets celestial Science meets religion in the Vatican Observatory, a centuries-old center of astronomical research.
    — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Paramount Skydance representatives are expected to meet on Monday with the California Attorney General’s office to discuss a potential settlement of the states’ antitrust case, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of meet
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of get at
Adjective
  • This is a watershed moment for generative AI and large language models (LLMs).
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The unanimous ruling was seen by supporters of self-identification as a watershed moment, pushing India ahead of much of South Asia on transgender rights.
    — Aakash Hassan, Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2026
Definition of watershed
Verb
  • Schwab investors continued to buy in July despite a choppy market backdrop, lifting the Schwab Trading Activity Index, known as STAX, for a third straight month and bringing it to its highest level since January 2022.
    — Deena Zaidi, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Through a federal program known as 340B, created in 1992 to subsidize the treatment of low-income patients, hospitals that treat a certain percentage of low-income patients can buy drugs at a steep discount, while charging insurers or patients more.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of buy

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Cite this Entry

“Pay off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pay%20off. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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