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

And this amount of debt will take years and years to pay off.

From MarketWatch

Ms Cremin said the results were "great to see" and they proved that "the years of fantastic efforts by our volunteers and the farmers and landowners we work with are paying off."

From BBC

I told him the best thing to do is to pay off the loan so he doesn’t damage his credit and sell the car for whatever he can get for it.

From MarketWatch

Here’s the first sock in the jaw: In order to pay off your card, you’d have to take almost $67,500 from your retirement account.

From MarketWatch

Osmin was among a group of Goldman executives that pressed for pushing ahead in the region, a decision that would pay off when markets rebounded.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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