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
The house, in this case Santa Anita, does take money off the top to run the game but is not involved in determining the payoffs.
—
John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
Setups, payoffs, and callbacks follow a strict logic, much like theater itself — nothing can break down, and even accidents have to be planned.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 15 Jan. 2026
Diamantis was found guilty by a federal jury after a first trial in October of taking payoffs for steering school construction contracts.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 9 Jan. 2026
Damien Eagers | Reuters Valuations of several technology and artificial intelligence stocks are expected to remain in focus in 2026, as investors are concerned about the payoffs on massive AI spending.
—Tipranks.com Staff, CNBC, 4 Jan. 2026
And the role of state and national governments in fostering the construction of canals, railroads, river improvements and ports had substantial payoffs.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
Adding more muscle has big payoffs.
—Will Stone, NPR, 26 Dec. 2025
But as long as they are managed, the risks of cooperation should be worth the payoffs.
—Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2025
In a toybox full of diversions and engaging side systems, the main quest largely falls flat, and the payoffs don't really live up to all the early promise.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 15 Dec. 2025
John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
Setups, payoffs, and callbacks follow a strict logic, much like theater itself — nothing can break down, and even accidents have to be planned.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 15 Jan. 2026
Diamantis was found guilty by a federal jury after a first trial in October of taking payoffs for steering school construction contracts.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 9 Jan. 2026
Damien Eagers | Reuters Valuations of several technology and artificial intelligence stocks are expected to remain in focus in 2026, as investors are concerned about the payoffs on massive AI spending.
—Tipranks.com Staff, CNBC, 4 Jan. 2026
And the role of state and national governments in fostering the construction of canals, railroads, river improvements and ports had substantial payoffs.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
Adding more muscle has big payoffs.
—Will Stone, NPR, 26 Dec. 2025
But as long as they are managed, the risks of cooperation should be worth the payoffs.
—Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2025
In a toybox full of diversions and engaging side systems, the main quest largely falls flat, and the payoffs don't really live up to all the early promise.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for payoffs
Noun
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In 2023 the communities earned $25,000 in profits from the ecolodge.—
Brianna Randall,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The Rosens, who allegedly used the illicit profits to buy a lavish multi-million-dollar home in La Jolla, were in custody and made initial appearances Wednesday in federal court in San Diego.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
By leveraging a four-day workweek as an incentive, thousands of organizations around the world—including hundreds in the United States—have been able to find sufficient gains to more than make up for the loss in hours.—
Joe O’Connor,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The Texans stifled the Steelers rushing attack and harassed Aaron Rodgers so extensively — sacking him four times, hitting him 12 times — that the future Hall of Fame quarterback scarcely had time to wait for plays to develop and repeatedly dumped the ball off for short gains.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The parade route begins at the Tarrant County Courthouse on North Main Street, follows the street south to the Convention Center, and returns north up Houston Street to Weatherford Street.—
Brayden Garcia
January 8,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Jan. 2026
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But efforts to mitigate human harms—restricting harvests, remodeling dams, breeding salmon in hatcheries—are yielding diminishing returns.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Payoffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/payoffs. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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