pay for
Britishverb
-
to make payment (of) for
-
(intr) to suffer or be punished, as for a mistake, wrong decision, etc
in his old age he paid for the laxity of his youth
-
Cover the expenses of, defray the cost of, as in I'll pay for your movie ticket , or This truck will pay for itself within a year . [Mid-1300s]
-
Atone for, suffer for, as in He may have looked like a good manager, but his successor will end up paying for his mistakes . [Late 1600s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Increasingly stretched consumers are starting to draw the line on what they will pay for a new car, according to dealers, analysts and industry data.
Too many families are trapped between impossible choices: Stay home and lose income, or work just to pay for care.
From Salon
"At least bring us a bus, let everyone pay for their own ticket and take us to Ecuador so we can continue on the route to Venezuela," he said.
From Barron's
“The driver thinks he should be compensated $1,500 for the tires he’s still paying for.”
Two years later, the car had mechanical problems and the relative quit paying for it.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.