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• pay-as-you-go
  pay-as-you-go

  noun

  the principle or practice of paying for goods and services at the time of purchase, rather than relying on credit.
• pay as you go
  pay as you go

  Pay for purchases immediately instead of deferring payment. For example, Ruth and Bob had no credit cards; they believed in paying as you go. [First half of 1800s]

pay-as-you-go

American  

[pay-uhz-yoo-goh] / ˈpeɪ əz jʊˈgoʊ /

noun

1. the principle or practice of paying for goods and services at the time of purchase, rather than relying on credit.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or based on such a principle or practice.

   a pay-as-you-go budget.

pay as you go Idioms  

1. Pay for purchases immediately instead of deferring payment. For example, Ruth and Bob had no credit cards; they believed in paying as you go. [First half of 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of pay-as-you-go

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pay-as-you-go pay as you go

Bush and Clinton reached bipartisan deficit-reduction agreements that reined in spending and introduced pay-as-you-go rules to restore fiscal discipline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

He said people could save money by buying tickets in advance, using travel passes or railcards, and that pay-as-you-go did not support railcard discounts, child, family or return tickets.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The pay-as-you-go scheme allows customers to use a tap-in and tap-out process using a contactless debit card or smartphone device without needing to buy tickets in advance for adult single journeys.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Standard licensing models between large AI companies and individual news organizations include guaranteed fees and are generally tied to broad access to content, rather than a pay-as-you-go model.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The dealers—led by Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs—came up with a clever solution: the pay-as-you-go credit default swap.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Among the options they are considering are pay as you go and digital season tickets that can be used across the rail network.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2024

Forget these tired old debates about balancing priorities and revenues and pay as you go.

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2016

Like most "pay as you go" mobile games, there are several types of resources you need to progress.

From The Verge ● Aug. 4, 2014

The one angle I can see where a cheaper iPhone makes sense is on the growing contract-free, pay as you go market–the Crickets, and Boosts, and AIOs of the world.

From Forbes ● Aug. 13, 2013

"You shall pay for all you get, and pay as you go."

From A Fascinating Traitor An Anglo-Indian Story by Richard Savage

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