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

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
Verb
As people spend more money, sales tax revenue growth within certain areas would be redirected back into supporting the project’s costs and paying off the bonds for up to 30 years. — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2026 The tactics seem to be paying off, with more than 233,000 zero-emission vehicle sales recorded so far this year, according to the California Energy Commission. — Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2026
Noun
Midterm elections are extraordinarily important in shaping the future of policymaking, even if the payoff is delayed. — Dylan Scott, Vox, 22 Oct. 2026 The ecological payoff from harvesting is rarely proportional to the share of a population removed. — Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 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. buy
  7. watershed
  8. decisive
Verb
  • The greater problem here is whether the Packers would be willing to pay the heavy price to acquire Taylor.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Among the other vessels that Italy is paying to keep is the Lady M, a sleek 210-foot superyacht owned by Alexei Mordashov, a Putin associate and majority shareholder in Severstal, Russia’s largest steel and mining company.
    — Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of pay
Verb
  • Gill and Krukoff separately pushed their way into Indigenous communities, bribing or cajoling elders to forage vines and process toxic plant compounds known as curare.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In exchange, the indictment said, the bettors bribed Beasley — and his debts to Davis were reduced or eliminated.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of bribe
Noun
  • As American Airlines earns substantial profits from its Charlotte hub, advocates said the workers who keep it running should receive a fair share.
    — Chase Jordan October 30, Charlotte Observer, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Outside of tech, stocks were more resilient as many rallied after reporting stronger profits for the summer than analysts expected.
    — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of profit
Adjective
  • As a pivotal member of The Byrds and co-founder of The Flying Burrito Brothers, as well as through his short solo career, Parsons bridged the then-divide between country music and rock, bringing the raw emotionalism of country into rock’s bravado.
    — Melinda Newman, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Each episode will feature conversations with celebrities, entrepreneurs and cultural figures about the pivotal moments, unexpected challenges and personal decisions that shaped their careers.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of pivotal
Verb
  • The work is part of a broader effort to understand how eVTOL aircraft can share airspace and infrastructure with conventional aircraft while meeting aviation safety requirements.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Now parties must meet, bargain and seek a way to team up for at least 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
    — CARA ANNA, Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of meet
Verb
  • Although a committee of parents, teachers, students and other community leaders spelled out the need for the bond package, the voters didn’t buy in to it.
    — Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also scrapped some ad buys in both states down the stretch, decisions that paid off as the party won both seats early on Tuesday night.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of buy
Adjective
  • What enters a watershed upstream can affect communities, ecosystems, wildlife and cultural resources downstream — including resources within our ancestral homelands.
    — Dana Adkins, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The watershed council commissioned a study, published in 2017 by Grand Valley State University, to evaluate the economic impact of the Huron River.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of watershed
Adjective
  • Democrats ousted Republicans from coast to coast, with many surprising places in between, in a decisive rejection of unified GOP control for the promise of something different for the country.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Democrats' decisive midterm wins are already making an impact on the economy and the markets — especially on real estate.
    — Christopher Farley, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of decisive

Browse Nearby Words

payments
pay off
payoff
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Cite this Entry

“Pay off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pay%20off. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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