Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [pey awf, of]
- /peɪ ɔf, ɒf/
- /peɪ ɒf/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [pey awf, of]
- /peɪ ɔf, ɒf/
Definitions of pay off words
- verb with object pay off to settle (a debt, obligation, etc.), as by transferring money or goods, or by doing something: Please pay your bill. 1
- verb with object pay off to give over (a certain amount of money) in exchange for something: He paid twenty dollars for the shirt. 1
- verb with object pay off to transfer money as compensation or recompense for work done or services rendered; to satisfy the claims of (a person, organization, etc.), as by giving money due: He paid me for my work. 1
- verb with object pay off to defray (cost or expense). 1
- verb with object pay off to give compensation for. 1
- verb with object pay off to yield a recompense or return to; be profitable to: Your training will pay you well in the future. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of pay off
First appearance:
before 1150 One of the 7% oldest English words
1150-1200; Middle English payen < Old French paier < Medieval Latin pācāre to satisfy, settle (a debt), Latin: to pacify (by force of arms). See peace
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Pay off
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
pay off popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 100% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
pay off usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for pay off
verb pay off
- advantaged — A person or place that is advantaged is in a better social or financial position than other people or places.
- ante up — If you ante up an amount of money, you pay your share, sometimes unwillingly.
- benefit — The benefit of something is the help that you get from it or the advantage that results from it.
- bribe — A bribe is a sum of money or something valuable that one person offers or gives to another in order to persuade him or her to do something.
- buy off — If you say that a person or organization buys off another person or group, you are criticizing the fact that they are giving them something such as money so that they will not complain or cause trouble.
Antonyms for pay off
verb pay off
- discontent — not content; dissatisfied; discontented.
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with p
- Words starting with pa
- Words starting with pay
- Words starting with payo
- Words starting with payof
- Words starting with payoff