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
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
Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 27 Feb. 2026
With this approach, a credit counselor works with your creditors to lower interest rates and your monthly payments are consolidated into one, with the debt typically paid off over three to five years.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
Graham Averill, Outside, 24 Feb. 2026
Championship Saturday in Denver offered proof that if the person in your corner is also your dad, the payoff can be doubly as good.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 22 Feb. 2026
Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pay off
Verb
The move has already paid off for the Mavericks, as Flagg has quickly become one of the league’s top players to watch.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 27 Feb. 2026
With this approach, a credit counselor works with your creditors to lower interest rates and your monthly payments are consolidated into one, with the debt typically paid off over three to five years.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
Noun
Editing takes a little more effort, but the payoff is footage that doesn’t miss the moment.
—Graham Averill, Outside, 24 Feb. 2026
Championship Saturday in Denver offered proof that if the person in your corner is also your dad, the payoff can be doubly as good.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 22 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
See All Example Sentences for pay off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pay off
Verb
-
International acquirers are paying attention.—
Maurizio Caio,
semafor.com,
2 Mar. 2026
-
That could force Americans to pay a price for regime change in Iran, further exacerbating affordability concerns.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Fanatics uses these gatherings not to bribe or threaten their detractors into silence, but to educate them on the business.—
A.J. Perez,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
-
When those efforts were ineffective, Roefaro bribed Taylor with tens of thousands of dollars in cash payments, between which Taylor issued a memo recommending the NYPD award the company a contract worth more than $11 million, according to the indictment.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
My group Unleash Prosperity warned repeatedly during the Biden years that the auto industry was sowing the seeds of its own destruction by getting hooked on the fool’s profits of taxpayer handouts for EVs.—
Stephen Moore,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Diageo is now expecting further weakness in 2026, with organic sales projected to be 2 to 3% lower, organic operating profit to be flat to up low single digits, and cut dividends to 20 cents per share.—
Sawdah Bhaimiya,Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
An opening for television ads The pivotal change came in 1997, when the agency issued draft guidance that television ads needed to present only major risk information and could direct viewers elsewhere – via phone lines, print materials or websites – for the full details.—
Anna Chorniy,
The Conversation,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Vincent, who was pivotal in advancing the company’s collection of works by high profile choreographers like Duato, returned to his former artistic home this winter to stage the piece on this current company, with help from Hubbard Street alum Cheryl Mann.—
Lauren Warnecke,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
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
Adjective
-
Importantly, Form’s deal with Google and Minneapolis utility Xcel Energy for the Pine Island data center complex is potentially a watershed moment for the nascent long-duration battery industry.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Roughly twenty years ago, Houston took the national scene by storm with Swishahouse and other collectives’ syrupy brand of Hip-Hop, marking a watershed moment for the city.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Little had gone right for USC, just like little had gone right the first time these teams met.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Support from Chiron in your partner zone means people important to you can meet you in the middle, even if past missteps made things tense.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
One big question is about whether the final Senate legislation will include a provision to ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.—
Zach Halaschak,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Mar. 2026
-
His talent was recognized by a second-grade teacher who urged his homemaker mother, Eleanor, to buy him a piano.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pay off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pay%20off. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
