payday

American  

[pay-day] / ˈpeɪˌdeɪ /

noun

• paydays
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• paydays
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of payday

First recorded in 1520–30; pay ¹ + day

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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

See Examples For:

payday paydays

"It’s really about values alignment," she said, adding that charities that court the newly rich only after their big payday risk looking transactional.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

Once you decide the amount of money you want to put toward this bill each month, automate payments on payday.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

A rematch would offer another enormous payday, particularly if the first encounter is close or controversial, but a one-sided defeat could push the loser towards retirement.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

I buy more every payday, rain or shine.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

On his payday we drove downtown to Division Street and brought presents for my sisters, and he actually kidded around with Mama.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

Even if LIV continues, its era of poaching elite players with giant paydays is likely over.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

“It’s just the process of it, man,” said Chargers safety Derwin James, who has earned a pair of hefty paydays after a training camp hold in of his own four years ago.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Annual wages soared by as much as 7% — the fastest rate in more than 40 years — and job switchers won even bigger paydays.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026

For early investors and executives, it could mean enormous paydays.

From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026

She goes to the door to see if Dad is coming down the lane and she talks about the paydays when we searched for him all over Brooklyn.

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

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