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
First, the software giant is doubling down on capital expenditures as Wall Street increasingly asks when investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure will produce more dramatic payoffs in revenue growth.
—
Bloomberg, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026
These distinctions are useful to understand fiber’s benefits, but practically speaking, any whole plant food will offer a mix of soluble and insoluble fibers, packing all of the related health payoffs.
—Matt Fuchs, Time, 25 Mar. 2026
Showrunner Dario Scardapane expertly crafts each hour to move the plot, characters and themes toward both their blowout conclusions and larger narrative payoffs.
—Bob Strauss, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2026
Prosecutors said at the time that the two received about $600,000 in payoffs and embezzled money.
—Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2026
While states are generally inclined to fund more clinical and translational research, which would have more immediate payoffs for taxpayers, the plan also specifically calls for funding basic research that seeds clinical discoveries.
—Anil Oza, STAT, 20 Feb. 2026
That means potential payoffs but also extreme danger.
—James Ward, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026
The pitchers were first charged in November with accepting several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 by placing more than 100 in-game prop bets and parlays on the speed and the outcome of certain pitches.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
The latest earnings reports from major technology companies have revived investors’ concerns about payoffs on elevated artificial intelligence (AI) spending.
—Tipranks, CNBC, 8 Feb. 2026
Bloomberg, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026
These distinctions are useful to understand fiber’s benefits, but practically speaking, any whole plant food will offer a mix of soluble and insoluble fibers, packing all of the related health payoffs.
—Matt Fuchs, Time, 25 Mar. 2026
Showrunner Dario Scardapane expertly crafts each hour to move the plot, characters and themes toward both their blowout conclusions and larger narrative payoffs.
—Bob Strauss, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2026
Prosecutors said at the time that the two received about $600,000 in payoffs and embezzled money.
—Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2026
While states are generally inclined to fund more clinical and translational research, which would have more immediate payoffs for taxpayers, the plan also specifically calls for funding basic research that seeds clinical discoveries.
—Anil Oza, STAT, 20 Feb. 2026
That means potential payoffs but also extreme danger.
—James Ward, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026
The pitchers were first charged in November with accepting several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 by placing more than 100 in-game prop bets and parlays on the speed and the outcome of certain pitches.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
The latest earnings reports from major technology companies have revived investors’ concerns about payoffs on elevated artificial intelligence (AI) spending.
—Tipranks, CNBC, 8 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for payoffs
Noun
-
That volatility produced a lot of profits and trading revenue for the banks, not to mention record bonuses for the traders.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Politics, profits and fear have driven so many publications to stop using one of the most powerful communication tools available … political cartoons.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In both of those cases, executives tied the cuts to efficiency gains from artificial intelligence.—
Katie Paul,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Alibaba shares have accelerated their gains this month as the Chinese e-commerce giant has released a succession of new artificial intelligence models.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
At the same time, declining loan valuations — markdowns in the value of loans extended by private credit funds — are signaling stress at the company level, forcing private equity managers to mark down asset values and accept lower returns, said Hooke.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Urena returns after making the first two appearances of his big league career early in the season.—
Doug Padilla,
Oc Register,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Payoffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/payoffs. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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