paid
Americanverb
verb
-
the past tense and past participle of pay 1
-
to end or destroy
breaking his leg put paid to his hopes of running in the Olympics
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Something that's paid is done in exchange for money, or happens while you're receiving pay. For example, your job might offer paid vacation, when you get your usual pay but don't have to work. Paid work is anything you do for pay, whether it's babysitting your cousin for ten dollars, or a job at a law firm that provides a weekly paycheck. When people are described as paid, it clarifies the fact that they're working for money — like a paid FBI informant, or a paid companion for an elderly man. Paid comes from the verb pay, which meant "pacify or please" long before it came to mean "give what is due."
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.
A couple of panelists rue the seeming lack of attention paid to “Murdaugh: Death in the Family,” touting Oscar and two-time Emmy winner Patricia Arquette.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
The charity also paid about 80% of the union's operating costs - around £6m annually, including £5m on salaries.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
Berkshire also lent more than $1.5 billion to Seritage, a loan that is nearly paid off.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
Americans paid an average of $154 for their December electricity bill, according to the Urban Institute.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
Folks who paid him plenty, unlike the folks in Garner.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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.
