pay out
Britishverb
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to distribute (money); disburse
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(tr) to release (a rope) gradually, hand over hand
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(tr) to retaliate against
noun
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Distribute money, disburse, as in He paid out the full amount . [Mid-1800s]
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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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If funds keep having to pay out 5% of their assets quarter after quarter, some might be forced into fire sales or could freeze withdrawals altogether, a process called gating.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
But the program can only pay out what it collects, which means an automatic benefit cut on the day the reserves are exhausted.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
Those typically run between 10 and 30 years and pay out only if the policy holder dies during that period.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
But there has been a heated debate over how much the platforms pay out in royalties.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
“Believe me, George Finkle will find a way to weasel out of paying the money. No way he’s going to pay out a million bucks for sinking a crummy foul shot.”
From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
