pay for
Britishverb
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to make payment (of) for
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(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
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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]
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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.
Because of the money you have to pay for the visa, we didn't manage it in time.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
The promise of the military was that it would pay for college, that it would give you financial stability: You’d have a nice home, drive a good car, see the world.
From Slate • Jun. 17, 2026
The California State Protocol Foundation uses private donations to pay for gubernatorial expenses and was founded under former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
Earlier in the boom, large tech companies could largely pay for their own infrastructure buildout, giving them an advantage over smaller competitors, according to Powers.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
Spiritualists, possibly also Leah and Daniel Underhill, offered to pay for both sisters to stay at a well-known residential rehab facility run by Dr. George Taylor and his wife, Sarah.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
