pay dirt

American  

noun

1. soil, gravel, or ore that can be mined profitably.

2. Informal. any source of success or wealth; a fortunate discovery or profitable venture.

   After months of experimentation, the scientists finally hit pay dirt.

3. Football. end zone.

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pay dirt British  

noun

1. a deposit rich enough in minerals to be worth mining

2. informal to achieve one's objective

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Etymology

Origin of pay dirt

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Example Sentences

Last year, it attained a valuation of $2.96 billion and recently finished two years of digitizing maps and other documents from the state archives in neighboring Zambia, where it hit pay dirt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Their initial attempts failed to find nematodes in lakebed sediments, prompting Jung to take a hammer to samples of microbialites where she struck biological pay dirt.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2024

It was amusing for a while to watch celebrities squirm in trying to say the right thing when asked about being a nepo baby—a topic interviewers quickly learned led to sound-bite pay dirt.

From Slate • Jan. 30, 2024

A play later, Caleb Williams hit pay dirt on an 11-yard run, giving USC a one-point lead.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2023

He thought he’d hit pay dirt with Grandma.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck