payout

American  

[pey-out] / ˈpeɪˌaʊt /

noun

• payouts
  plural

1. an act or instance of paying, expending, or disbursing.

2. money paid, expended, or disbursed, as a dividend or winning.

   He went to the betting window to collect his payout.

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verb phrase

1. 1. to distribute (money, wages, etc.); disburse.

   2. to get revenge upon for an injury; requite.

   3. to let out (a rope) by slackening.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• payouts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of payout

First recorded in 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase pay out

Explanation

When money is handed over it's a payout. Not only does your favorite professional basketball player have a huge salary, he also gets a $50,000 payout if his team makes the quarterfinals! Payout usually refers to money paid as a prize, an investment dividend, or an insurance settlement. You'll probably get a large insurance payout after a tree falls on your house, but you'll have to wait a while. And don't expect any kind of payout from a lottery ticket — the odds of winning a jackpot are extremely low! Payout originally referred to oil wells: the cost of drilling was only worthwhile if the eventual payout would be high.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

payout payouts

Filippo Marchino, an attorney with the X-Law Group who represented Danbom, said he believed the $28-million payout, awarded Aug. 13, was the largest verdict in California stemming from a below-the-knee amputation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

This year’s men’s and women’s Open singles winners will each take home $5.5 million after organizers, responding to player appeals for a larger share of revenue, spiked the overall payout 20%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Only auto policyholders will receive the cash as part of a $5-billion payout from the company.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Directors declared a final dividend of 99 cents a share, taking the miner’s annual payout to $1.72 a share—its highest in four years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The expected payout on a slot machine is determined in like manner.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

The payouts totaled $427 million last fiscal year, including more than $100 million that went to members of the Brown family.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Feldstein Soto has argued the city’s payouts were inflated by a “cascade of horrible” cases that were pending when she took office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Management confirmed that it was considering fixed and special dividend payouts.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Typically, there are fixed payouts and the price of the contract reflects the market’s expectation of the odds of the outcome.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

Actually, you can win only by taking cards from the blue decks, which offer a nice steady diet of $50 payouts and modest penalties.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell