pay off

British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to pay all that is due in wages, etc, and discharge from employment

2. (tr, adverb) to pay the complete amount of (a debt, bill, etc)

3. (intr, adverb) to turn out to be profitable, effective, etc

   the gamble paid off

4. to take revenge on (a person) or for (a wrong done)

   to pay someone off for an insult

5. informal (tr, adverb) to give a bribe to

6. (intr, adverb) nautical (of a vessel) to make leeway

---

noun

1. the final settlement, esp in retribution

   the payoff came when the gang besieged the squealer's house

2. informal the climax, consequence, or outcome of events, a story, etc, esp when unexpected or improbable

3. the final payment of a debt, salary, etc

4. the time of such a payment

5. informal a bribe

pay off Idioms  

1. Pay the full amount on a debt or on wages, as in The car's finally paid off , or Les pays off the workers every Friday evening . [Early 1700s]

2. Produce a profit, as in That gamble did not pay off . [Mid-1900s]

3. Also, pay off an old score . Get revenge on someone for some grievance, require, as in Jerry was satisfied; he'd paid off his ex-partner when he bought him out at half-price , or Amy went out with her roommate's boyfriend, but she was paying off and old score .

4. Bribe, as in The owner of the bar paid off the local police so he wouldn't get in trouble for serving liquor to minors . [ Colloquial ; c. 1900]

---

Example Sentences

For James and his teammates, Sunday’s practice had “value” because it allowed them to clean up some things, do some “teaching” and get some “reps” that will pay off with the playoffs approaching.

From Los Angeles Times

“Cruciverbalist. A writer of crossword puzzles. He was convinced his puzzles would get published in The New York Times, and that he’d make enough money to pay off some of our bills.”

From Literature

The effect of higher fuel costs also weighs less on Hong Leong Asia compared with its peers, the analysts say, noting the company’s push to alternative fuels seems to be paying off.

From The Wall Street Journal

It could pay off, but successfully executing a deal of that size is no small feat.

From The Wall Street Journal

The lenders are betting that the equity sponsors of private-equity deals will not jeopardize their large equity interests in their software companies by not paying off their borrowings.

From Barron's

Related Words

• amount
• award
• cash
• deposit
• disbursement
• fee
• outlay
• pension
• premium
• refund
• reimbursement
• remittance
• reparation
• repayment
• restitution
• return
• reward
• royalty
• salary
• settlement