paycheck

American  

[pay-chek] / ˈpeɪˌtʃɛk /

noun

• paychecks
  plural

1. a bank check given as salary or wages.

2. salary or wages.

   One can stretch the paycheck only just so far.

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Usage

What does paycheck mean? A paycheck is the bank check that is given to an employee by their employer to pay them for their work. Paycheck is also used more generally to refer to the money a person is paid for their work, as in Most of my paycheck goes to paying rent and bills. It can refer to wages (payment based on the time spent working or the number of items worked on) or a salary (a set amount paid over time). A paycheck can be an actual piece of paper (a check) that a person can take to the bank to deposit to their account or exchange for cash. Alternatively, a paycheck can be money a company electronically deposits directly into the employee’s bank account. This is often referred to as a direct deposit. Paychecks are often issued to employees every two weeks, but they can also be given weekly, bimonthly, or monthly. Typically, a paycheck also includes information about the  taxes and deductions that have been taken out of an employee’s pay. Paychecks are the most common method of payment in the U. S. for most part-time and full-time employees. Jobs that involve payments of cash or other compensation are much less common. Example: I’m thankful that my work allows me to earn a steady paycheck, but I dream of starting my own business.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• paychecks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of paycheck

First recorded in 1900–05; pay ¹ + check ¹

Explanation

Your paycheck is the money you get from work, usually every week or two. Country singer Johnny Paycheck’s big hit was “Take This Job and Shove It.” Good luck getting a paycheck after saying that! An employer usually pays employees with regularly scheduled paychecks. Your paycheck represents payment of your wages for the amount of time you worked. A lot of workers have their salaries deposited directly into their bank accounts, so they don't actually get a paper paycheck. You can also use paycheck more generally to mean "income" or "earnings," as in "All that money for health insurance comes right out of my paycheck."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paycheck paychecks

You are saying your paycheck goes into bitcoin first, rather than being spent on unnecessary purchases, but will acquiesce when you need a new car.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

How will an ineffective teacher suddenly become excellent merely because the person signing her paycheck changes?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

“In Canada, people are struggling from paycheck to paycheck now,” said Garett Broenner, 60, who has hit pause on his plan to upgrade his 2003 Harley V-Rod.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

After then paying taxes, they budget with what is left: about 60% of their gross paycheck, or $60,000.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

I think about the paycheck Mom gets every week from the motel.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Despite that, parts of millions of people’s paychecks were dutifully invested in them based on cookie-cutter formulas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

As Alan notes at the start, Almar signs his paychecks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

ADP manages the distribution of paychecks for more than 25 million employees at companies around the country.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

He returned to television briefly, working on two more game shows, one of which included one of his biggest paychecks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

It was the economist Milton Friedman who helped come up with a solution to this one: automatic tax withholding from employees’ paychecks.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt