foot the bill

Idioms  

1. Pay the bill, settle the accounts, as in The bride's father was resigned to footing the bill for the wedding. This expression uses foot in the sense of “add up and put the total at the foot, or bottom, of an account.” [Colloquial; early 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foot the bill

New Jersey governor Mikie Sherril previously criticised Fifa's refusal to subsidise transport at the event and insisted local taxpayers would not foot the bill.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

In the latest sign of a tightening supply bottleneck that has sent memory prices skyrocketing, customers are offering to foot the bill for greater production capacity.

From Barron's ● May 8, 2026

But the consumers who had to foot the bill for the higher costs?

From Slate ● Apr. 22, 2026

Try to make it fun, and don’t forget to foot the bill for members to attend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

He had decided to assemble a research team and explore the area in more detail the next year, and persuaded the National Geographic Society to foot the bill.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann