pay off 1 of 3

verb

Definition of pay offnext
1
as in to pay
to give what is owed for I finally paid off the loan

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

payoff

2 of 3

noun

ˈpā-ˌȯf How to pronounce payoff (audio)
as in profit
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

payoff

3 of 3

adjective

as in pivotal

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Dissimilar 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 pay off
Verb
Whether students are considering college, trade school or another path altogether, families increasingly want evidence that the choice will pay off. — Jason St. Angelo, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 Saturday’s major money Florida Lottery draw games paid off in ultimate luck for shoppers at Publix and Winn-Dixie. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 30 Aug. 2026
Noun
Rickea Jackson appeared to be the trade payoff the Sky had been seeking for several seasons, only to blow her knee four games in. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026 Hydration and the hangover angle Fans of zebra striping also point to a next-morning payoff. — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026
Adjective
There’s little sense of forward motion in these tracks, but even when simply drifting in place, the blend of atmosphere and physicality—sunset glow meets seismic throb—is payoff enough. — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026 Not wrong for much of the last three decades — but Saturday night’s gig, and all the joyous revelry surrounding it, showed why the Live ’25 Tour has been payoff enough for none of them to look back in anger at any of it. — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pay off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pay off
  1. pay
  2. bribe
  3. profit
  4. pivotal
  5. meet
  6. get at
  7. watershed
  8. buy
Verb
  • Google will pay an additional $190 million to Entergy for transmission system upgrades needed to serve the project.
    — Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
  • With consumers paying an average of $49,855 for new cars in July 2026, according to Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book, only nine major car brands averaged sale prices under $40,000 in the United States.
    — Keith Laing, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of pay
Verb
  • The incidents continued back in Maryland, including outside a Chipotle, where Garcia allegedly tried to bribe the victim to touch himself in exchange for food.
    — Bryan Lynn, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • At a press conference Thursday afternoon, LeVota denied the allegations but identified Legislator DaRon McGee as the candidate that federal prosecutors are accusing LeVota of bribing.
    — Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of bribe
Noun
  • The answer is that the creditor gets to keep the $15,000 as pure profit.
    — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Elwood’s father was an Episcopal pastor, and his mother worked for non-profits, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of profit
Adjective
  • Iceland’s freezing temperatures typically last about five months of the year, but the government has chosen a balmy summer day for its pivotal national referendum.
    — Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
  • But Bama followed with a 38-3 quarterfinal flop to Indiana, erasing any momentum and placing DeBoer squarely under the microscope entering a pivotal third season.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of pivotal
Verb
  • Lake Zurich and Antioch met twice last season, including in a second-round playoff game.
    — Mike McGraw, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Big picture The league and the union are meeting regularly on various topics, but their disagreement on core economics — whether to move to a cap system — leaves little room for progress on the major issues.
    — Evan Drellich, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of meet
Verb
  • Fast-food restaurants, once the first stop for Americans looking to get at least one meal in before a long work day, are fighting to win back customers.
    — Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Compared with Let’s Move’s easygoing recommendations—children should get at least one hour of physical activity each day, and everyone should drink one more glass of water—MAHA is also considerably more macho.
    — Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 1 Sep. 2025
Definition of get at
Adjective
  • For a deeper look at the landscape, the Dewey Short Visitor Center pairs lake and dam views with engaging exhibits on the watershed and local habitats.
    — Taryn Shorr-Mckee, Midwest Living, 26 Aug. 2026
  • This is a watershed moment for generative AI and large language models (LLMs).
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of watershed
Verb
  • Yes, Minteh and Sarr both operate on the right and buying one of them arguably would have provided a better balance to Iraola’s attacking department given that his other wide players prefer the left flank.
    — James Pearce, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • What makes Cypress Solar so valuable are the renewable energy credits Google will buy from Entergy.
    — Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of buy

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Cite this Entry

“Pay off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pay%20off. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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