payoff

American  

[pey-awf, -of] / ˈpeɪˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

1. the payment of a salary, debt, wager, etc.

2. the time at which such payment is made.

3. the consequence, outcome, or final sequence in a series of events, actions, or circumstances.

   The payoff was when they fired him.

   Synonyms:

   finale, upshot, climax

4. Informal. the climax of something, especially a story or joke.

5. a settlement or reckoning, as in retribution or reward.

6. Informal. a bribe.

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adjective

1. yielding results, especially rewarding or decisive results.

   The payoff play was the long pass into the end zone.

verb phrase

1. 1. to pay (someone) everything that is due that person, especially to do so and discharge from one's employ.

   2. to pay (a debt) in full.

   3. Informal. to bribe.

   4. to retaliate upon or punish; pay back.

   5. to result in success or failure.

      The risk paid off handsomely.

   6. Nautical. to fall off to leeward.

Etymology

Origin of payoff

First recorded in 1910–15; noun, adjective use of verb phrase pay off

Example Sentences

As your wife wrote the check, the IRS might initially treat the full mortgage payoff as 100% her gift.

From MarketWatch

Such companies are typically the polar opposite of AI stocks, which are valued on “long-dated payoffs, which, in my mind, are largely conjectural,” he says.

From Barron's

As pressure builds both inside and outside the country, security at home, once presented as the ultimate payoff of those policies, seems more distant than ever.

From BBC

The already unlikely payoff for a founder would be smaller by at least 15%, conclude the Wharton economists.

From Barron's

In Herbert’s original sequel book, 1969’s “Dune: Messiah,” that turn frustrated many readers who expected another triumph and instead found a story that deliberately refused an easy payoff.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• consequence
• outcome
• payment
• reward
• settlement