pay out

verb

1. to distribute (money); disburse

2. (tr) to release (a rope) gradually, hand over hand

3. (tr) to retaliate against

noun

1. a sum of money paid out

Idioms and Phrases

Distribute money, disburse, as in He paid out the full amount . [Mid-1800s]

Let out a rope by slackening, as in She paid out the rope until it was long enough to tie the canoe onto the car . This nautical expression dates from the late 1700s.

Example Sentences

Someone who don’t want to layer insurance plans like Lego bricks can simply shop smart and pay out of pocket.

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"Why would they pay out for years and years and then, after four years of payments they say, 'Oh, we made a mistake, or we were cheated'", he said.

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Even with those long-shot odds for Toronto, sportsbooks would rather pay out those bets than face the heavy losses that would occur with a Dodgers series win.

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The federal government pays out $100 billion a year in food assistance to 42 million Americans through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

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If Congress doesn’t act to shore up the program, the trust fund backing Social Security faces insolvency in 2033, at which point the fund would pay out only 77% of scheduled benefits.

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Related Words

• administer 
• allot 
• apportion 
• assign 
• circulate 
• disburse 
• dispense 
• disseminate 
• donate 
• give 
• give away 
• hand out 
• issue 
• present 
• scatter 
• share