pays off

verb

present tense third-person singular of pay off
1
as in pays
to give what is owed for I finally paid off the loan

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bribes
to influence someone with a bribe she paid off the security guard so that she could steal whatever she liked

Synonyms & Similar 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 pays off Meta and Microsoft prove why patience pays off Not every tech stock got slammed last week. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026 The obvious effort that Pascal spent practicing the cello pays off in the scenes where Alex intensely plays the instrument for his own private reasons, as if asking the same thing of himself. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 2026 This opaqueness from earlier in the season pays off in the form of John recounting the brutal methods the Manhunter used to decimate this planet, involving a fear gas that made people kill one another and jump to their deaths. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026 Quarterly reporting cycles do not reward discipline that pays off over a longer horizon than a single reporting period. — Hiren Dhaduk, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026 And despite the reputation, not every bet pays off for Moody. — Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026 Whether that trade actually pays off depends on your vehicle, your driving habits and how the numbers line up against real repair-cost data. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026 Being able to bring directing ideas into the writing itself, and getting a handle on the complex psychological stakes the writers had built in, so they could be properly showcased later, saves a lot of time and usually pays off. — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026 Becoming a regular pays off more than any one-off negotiation. — Lauren Schuster, Sacbee.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pays off
  1. pays
  2. bribes
  3. pays up
  4. has
  5. meets
  6. buys
  7. seduces
Verb
  • The strongest businesses protect their creative core while continually measuring what actually pays for it.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
  • This is a league-wide dilemma created from an environment that pays its employees handsomely for wins and fires them for losses.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of pays
Verb
  • In one of the film’s most madcap and darkly comedic moments, Linda bribes her daughter with the promise of a pet hamster — who turns out to be a biter, desperate to escape its box.
    — Rachel Brodsky, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025
Definition of bribes
Verb
  • When backed by the federal Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, which pays up to $3 per kilogram of clean fuel, these factory installations become viable immediately.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 23 Sep. 2026
  • If approved, the company pays up to the plan’s coverage limit.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of pays up
Verb
  • The highest room category at the hotel is a 1,109-square-feet spa suite that has its own private whirlpool and treatment room, with a 25-minute massage included in the room rate.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Those who checked Truth Social after CNN projected that the Democratic party would capture the House of Representatives were also set up for disappointment, as the president has yet to comment on those results as well.
    — Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of has
Verb
  • The National Science Foundation award includes an initial $15 million over two years, with the possibility of up to $160 million over a decade if the partnership meets performance milestones.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Paladin meets Vision and Lisa in a street bazaar to prove Thomas is alive and demand Vision’s surrender.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of meets
Verb
  • Each rotation buys a teammate time to recover, provided the next player moves with it.
    — C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • This doesn't mean every scammer buys sophisticated consumer profiles.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of buys
Verb
  • Artificial plays like a modern-day parable in which the trickster god seduces the innocent.
    — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Diaz centers music as the emotional vehicle that provides a philosophical structure for the character tropes and in turn psychologically seduces the audience to internalize certain ideas of social dynamics.
    — Damaly Gonzalez, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of seduces

Browse Nearby Words

pays (for)
pays off
pays up
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Cite this Entry

“Pays off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pays%20off. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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