as in earnings
the amount of money left when expenses are subtracted from the total amount received
the payoff on the investment was only about $500
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Recent Examples of payoffs
There would be many other payoffs for fans who’d hungered for years to see America’s top soccer league come to San Diego.
—
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 May 2026
But it's been noticeable through the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup payoffs that Makar has been dealing with lingering injury.
—Jack Lowenstein, CBS News, 20 May 2026
Financial payoffs varied considerably by program of study.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
Social connection is one of the clearest payoffs.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 16 May 2026
What Researchers Found Participants with higher fitness levels before age 65—for men, at least 11 to 15 METs and 9 to 12 METs in women—experienced some significant payoffs for health and longevity later on.
—Sarah Garone, Health, 13 May 2026
Mental health is one of the clearest payoffs.
—Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 May 2026
Each month, the indictment says, a member of the Chapitos gang responsible for overseeing operations in Culiacán received a box stuffed with a large amount of cash, along with a list of corrupt officials who were supposed to receive the payoffs.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
Loose ends and compelling payoffs await after a subdued and slow-ish first frame that struggles with a balance between dark brooding and uneven lull.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 May 2026
But it's been noticeable through the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup payoffs that Makar has been dealing with lingering injury.
—Jack Lowenstein, CBS News, 20 May 2026
Financial payoffs varied considerably by program of study.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
Social connection is one of the clearest payoffs.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 16 May 2026
What Researchers Found Participants with higher fitness levels before age 65—for men, at least 11 to 15 METs and 9 to 12 METs in women—experienced some significant payoffs for health and longevity later on.
—Sarah Garone, Health, 13 May 2026
Mental health is one of the clearest payoffs.
—Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 May 2026
Each month, the indictment says, a member of the Chapitos gang responsible for overseeing operations in Culiacán received a box stuffed with a large amount of cash, along with a list of corrupt officials who were supposed to receive the payoffs.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
Loose ends and compelling payoffs await after a subdued and slow-ish first frame that struggles with a balance between dark brooding and uneven lull.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for payoffs
Noun
-
Studies found little real difference, but the new patent was an effective tool for keeping generics at bay and continuing to collect monopoly profits.—
Wayne T Brough,
Oc Register,
29 May 2026
-
In his encyclical, Leo fretted about multiple ongoing wars, lamented the decline of multilateral coalitions and blasted arms industry profits as driving the conflicts.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
But violence has since roared back, in part because armed groups have taken advantage of peace negotiations with Petro’s government to make territorial gains.—
Megan Janetsky,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
-
Summarizing documents, drafting emails, building slides has been the early harvest, and the productivity gains from these applications are real but also well understood and increasingly commoditized.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
The genuine returns from agentic AI sit in deeper process automation, where multi-step workflows run across systems with minimal human intervention.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
In a rare box office feat, the pic — made for under $1 million — also logged a 39% increase in box office returns during its second weekend.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Payoffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/payoffs. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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