payoff

American  

[pey-awf, -of] / ˈpeɪˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

• payoffs
  plural

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• payoffs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of payoff

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

payoff payoffs

Or are you looking to expedite the payoff so that you don’t have mortgage debt for he rest of your life?

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

The payoff, after Simpson would appear in some unlikely setting, was him bellowing “You’ve been juiced!”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Meanwhile, activists like McCollum have expanded their focus to opposing all hyperscale data centers, taking Lavina’s perspective that bigger facilities are not worth the potential economic payoff.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

But the payoff is substantial: With 15,000 to 20,000 seats depending on the configuration, a single night can gross up to $3 million in ticket sales.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Her expression was carefully bland, and I understood now that the piano was a payoff.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Liquid, publicly-traded stock will allow these companies to attract talent with more immediate payoffs via stock options, rather than waiting around for long periods in illiquid assets, he added.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

During her morning news conference, she seemed to mock some of the U.S. evidence, including hand-written ledgers allegedly denoting payoffs to Mexican politicians.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026

In 2008, both Lee Jae-yong and his father resigned after a former Samsung lawyer turned whistle-blower claimed knowledge of a slush fund that was being used for bribes and political payoffs.

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026

Ackman and his team also may make small “macro” investments with the potential for large payoffs like he successfully did on corporate credit in 2020 and interest rates in 2022.

From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026

The horses were almost all long shots, because no one trusted what Smith was doing, but that just made the payoffs for Howard’s bets all the greater.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• consequence
• outcome
• payment
• reward
• settlement