payday

American  

[pey-dey] / ˈpeɪˌdeɪ /

noun

1. the day on which wages are given, payment is made, etc.

2. Informal. a day or period during which a great deal of money, success, fame, etc., is won or obtained.

   Payday came when she was given a screen test by a big Hollywood studio.

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payday British  

/ ˈpeɪˌdeɪ /

noun

1. the day on which wages or salaries are paid

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Etymology

Origin of payday

First recorded in 1520–30; pay ¹ + day

Explanation

When you have a job, your payday is the day you get paid. You might wait to buy yourself a new outfit until after payday. Some jobs have a weekly payday — maybe Fridays are payday at the ice cream shop where you work. In other cases, you have to wait two weeks, or even a month, between paydays. You can also use payday to mean a sudden success or influx of money, either earned or won: "That movie brought a huge payday to its producers." Since 1932, there's also been a peanut and nougat-based candy bar called PayDay.

Example Sentences

Beyond that, I’m sure any of the streamers would happily fork over an ungodly payday to have exclusive access to his talent.

From Salon • May 21, 2026

“Tom has put in place an investment policy to ensure that he does not directly invest in fossil fuels, payday lending, or private prisons,” spokesman Anthony York said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

The trainer, who is based in Selkirk in the Scottish Borders, said he "usually would have a fiver or a tenner on them" which would have made a "nice payday".

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

The idea was you incentivize people to stick around with the prospect of a big payday upon an exit or an IPO.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

It’s like it doesn’t matter if it’s a payday week or not.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden