Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for pay the piper. Search instead for play the piano.
Synonyms

pay the piper

Cultural  
  1. To pay the consequences for self-indulgent behavior: “If you stay up late at night to watch TV, in the morning you will have to pay the piper.”


pay the piper Idioms  
  1. see under call the tune.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

We all ultimately pay the piper and take accountability for our actions.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

He’ll be happy merely going to his grave never having to pay the piper.

From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2025

Now the time has come for Jake to pay the piper.

From Fox News ● Aug. 20, 2021

After all the theatrical fun and games, you’ll eventually have to pay the piper.

From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2020

Somehow she had found out, and we were going down to Stuyvesant together to pay the piper.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training