noun
-
the act of paying
-
a sum of money paid
-
something given in return; punishment or reward
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of payment
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, variant of paiement, from Middle French; equivalent to pay 1 + -ment
Explanation
Payment is the process of either giving money to someone, or of receiving money from someone. If you borrow money to buy a car, you'll be expected to make a monthly payment for several years. Your paycheck itself is a payment, and so is the act of your boss handing you that paycheck. There are also types of payment that don't involve money, like when your payment for watching your little cousin one afternoon consists of a big piece of your uncle's famous apple pie. Payment, from the verb pay, is rooted in the Latin pacare, used to mean "satisfy a creditor," but originally defined as "please, satisfy, or make peaceful."
Vocabulary lists containing payment
"...And Although the Little Mermaid Sacrificed Everything..."
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Century 21 Accounting, 9e, Chapters 8-10
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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.
See Examples For:
In addition, Caldwell said he added 9,000 new touch screens in the kitchens, designed to simplify order prioritization for cooks and added new tabletop payment devices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
On Monday's sentencing it was heard he had failed to do so apart from a single payment of £1,232 in May 2025.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Ask whether the provider offers a discount, an interest-free payment plan or a reduced price for paying an agreed amount at once.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Before the war, roughly 100 ships passed freely through the Strait of Hormuz each day, without the payment of any fees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
In these deals, however, there was a provision that allowed Wall Street to put the loans back to Option One if the borrowers failed to make their first payment.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
In the quarter, payments volume and processed transactions both rose 10% from the year-ago period, while cross-border volumes increased 13%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Known as the Record of Emergency Data, this form designates that beneficiaries get $100,000 tax-free cash and any unreceived payments after a servicemember dies.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Because they are classed as paid employment, benefit payments are reduced to households where young people take on apprenticeships.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The payments giant said it is shedding about 2,600 jobs, primarily in technology and product teams, to achieve better efficiency with AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The borrowers were failing to make interest payments sufficient to pay off the riskiest subprime bonds.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
