paymaster

American  

[pey-mas-ter, -mah-ster] / ˈpeɪˌmæs tər, -ˌmɑ stər /

noun

1. a person authorized by a company, government, etc., to pay out wages or salaries, especially in the military.

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paymaster British  

/ ˈpeɪˌmɑːstə /

noun

1. an official of a government, business, etc, responsible for the payment of wages and salaries

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Other Word Forms

• paymastership noun

Etymology

Origin of paymaster

First recorded in 1540–50; pay ¹ + master

Example Sentences

Young voters who were previously unaware that L.A. even had a controller were galvanized by Mejia’s unorthodox campaign, which directed an unprecedented spotlight toward L.A.’s chief accounting officer, auditor and paymaster.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2025

As for Cohen’s and others’ actions to implement the scheme, Trump Organization paymaster Deborah Tarasoff testified that the defendant or his sons had to approve any check for more than $10,000.

From Salon • May 24, 2024

Olaf Scholz, the leader of the EU's paymaster Germany, concluded the negotiations were only starting in earnest: "We are still at the beginning, the positions... are not matching yet."

From Reuters • Oct. 26, 2023

Nor was the former Labour MP and paymaster general, Geoffrey Robinson, who was found to have "inadvertently" misled MPs in 2001.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2023

He blew on the wet ink, slid the parchment to the paymaster, and signed the one beneath.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Related Words

• accountant
• clerk
• teller