pay for

verb

1. to make payment (of) for

2. (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

Idioms and Phrases

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]

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

The decisions, issued within moments of each other on Friday by judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, said the government must pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or Snap, benefits using a contingency fund.

Read more on BBC

In exchange, Charles would pay for his brother to live in a far more modest house on the family’s holiday estate of Sandringham.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A few nibbled leaves are small prices to pay for the joy of birdsong and butterflies.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The King and other working members of the Royal Family use the money to pay for expenses related to their official duties.

Read more on BBC

He also accused the DWP of relying increasingly on “adjustment factors” to increase the amount customers pay for water and electricity, instead of hiking the base rate.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• back 
• encourage 
• finance 
• fund 
• maintain 
• raise 
• set up 
• sponsor 
• strengthen 
• subsidize 
• uphold