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pay dirt

See more synonyms for pay dirt on Thesaurus.com
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(def 1).
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Origin of pay dirt

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pay dirt

Historical Examples

  • Hill diggings are those where the pay-dirt is in or under a hill.

    Hittel on Gold Mines and Mining

    John S. Hittell

  • Hitherto these men had been accustomed to the slow process of washing “pay-dirt.”

    The Golden Woman

    Ridgwell Cullum

  • These keen-eyed men with eager talk of claims and pay-dirt could not help me.

    The Trail of '98

    Robert W. Service

  • In the meantime Angela washed the pay-dirt and placed the residue in a handkerchief.

    Colorado Jim

    George Goodchild

  • There was twelve feet of top-stripping to be removed before we could hope to reach the pay-dirt.

British Dictionary definitions for pay dirt

pay dirt

noun
  1. a deposit rich enough in minerals to be worth mining
  2. strike pay dirt or hit pay dirt informal to achieve one's objective
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012