payroll

American  

[pey-rohl] / ˈpeɪˌroʊl /

noun

1. a list of employees to be paid, pay, with the amount due to each.

2. the sum total of these amounts.

3. the actual money on hand for distribution.

   The bandits got away with the payroll.

4. the total number of people employed by a business firm or organization.

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verb (used with object)

1. to fund or subsidize.

   to be payrolled by the State Department.

payroll British  

/ ˈpeɪˌrəʊl /

noun

1. a list of employees, specifying the salary or wage of each

2. 1. the total of these amounts or the actual money equivalent

   2. ( as modifier )

      a payroll tax

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Etymology

Origin of payroll

First recorded in 1765–75; pay ¹ + roll

Explanation

A company's payroll is a complete list of everyone who works there and how much money they make. The small coffee shop where you work might have just four employees on its payroll. Any business or organization with a paid staff has a payroll. A school's payroll might include the principal, teachers, office workers, school nurse, and maintenance workers, for example. You can also use the term payroll for the entire amount of money that a company pays its workers over the course of a year, or for the department that calculates these salaries and hands out paychecks.

Example Sentences

Because of his connection to the co-op, he was appointed equipment coordinator of the Everest climb, and REI agreed to keep him on the payroll during the expedition.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

In its report “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age,” OpenAI says superintelligence could boost corporate profits and capital gains while cutting income and payroll taxes that fund government programs like Social Security.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Now, May’s mid-major know-how is boosted by a power-conference payroll: Wolverines general manager Kyle Church puts the team’s total outlay for its roster at roughly $10 million.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

As AI becomes integrated into offices and factories, lower-rung workers and those whose jobs involve repetitive tasks feel especially at risk, the payroll giant’s polling showed.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

"You'll be on the payroll of the Empire Canning Company, the same as always, but you'll spend ten hours a day on the trail, getting your team in shape."

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

Related Words

• amount
• budget
• charge
• consumption
• debt
• expenditure
• insurance
• investment
• liability
• loan
• loss
• mortgage
• obligation
• outlay
• price
• price tag
• rate
• risk
• spending
• sum