payroll

[pey-rohl]

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.

verb (used with object)

1. to fund or subsidize.

   to be payrolled by the State Department.

payroll

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of payroll¹

First recorded in 1765–75; pay ¹ + roll

Example Sentences

With the government shutdown postponing or cancelling the release of some key data, closely watched non-farm payrolls figures are now due in mid-December, after the Fed's policy decision.

Read more on Barron's

Instead of auditing payroll, they spent the afternoon filling in application forms.

Read more on BBC

In the 2024 budget announcement, Reeves raised payroll taxes on firms, which alongside higher government-regulated utility bills dragged inflation higher in the early part of this year.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Contributions above that level now will be subject to the payroll tax of 15% split between employer and employee.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The most recent nationwide payroll numbers, published last week, showed that the economy added 119,000 jobs in September, more than economists had expected.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• amount 
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• spending www.thesaurus.com
• sum