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

Son is in for a personal payday that could run into the tens of billions of dollars if OpenAI’s ascent continues.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

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

‘It’s likely to be the biggest underwriting payday ever for an IPO in terms of the total dollar amount’

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

"We will not submit to opportunistic lawyers looking to manufacture a payday from us," they added.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

Mam says it’s a good thing payday is Friday when you can’t eat meat because the smell of bacon or sausages in other houses would drive her out of her mind.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt