paycheck

American  

[pey-chek] / ˈpeɪˌtʃɛk /

noun

paychecks plural

1. a bank check given as salary or wages.

2. salary or wages.

   One can stretch the paycheck only just so far.

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Usage

What does paycheck mean? A paycheck is the bank check that is given to an employee by their employer to pay them for their work. Paycheck is also used more generally to refer to the money a person is paid for their work, as in Most of my paycheck goes to paying rent and bills. It can refer to wages (payment based on the time spent working or the number of items worked on) or a salary (a set amount paid over time). A paycheck can be an actual piece of paper (a check) that a person can take to the bank to deposit to their account or exchange for cash. Alternatively, a paycheck can be money a company electronically deposits directly into the employee’s bank account. This is often referred to as a direct deposit. Paychecks are often issued to employees every two weeks, but they can also be given weekly, bimonthly, or monthly. Typically, a paycheck also includes information about the  taxes and deductions that have been taken out of an employee’s pay. Paychecks are the most common method of payment in the U. S. for most part-time and full-time employees. Jobs that involve payments of cash or other compensation are much less common. Example: I’m thankful that my work allows me to earn a steady paycheck, but I dream of starting my own business.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• paychecks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of paycheck

First recorded in 1900–05; pay ¹ + check ¹

Explanation

Your paycheck is the money you get from work, usually every week or two. Country singer Johnny Paycheck’s big hit was “Take This Job and Shove It.” Good luck getting a paycheck after saying that! An employer usually pays employees with regularly scheduled paychecks. Your paycheck represents payment of your wages for the amount of time you worked. A lot of workers have their salaries deposited directly into their bank accounts, so they don't actually get a paper paycheck. You can also use paycheck more generally to mean "income" or "earnings," as in "All that money for health insurance comes right out of my paycheck."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paycheck paychecks

A paycheck boost is a welcome development for households that have struggled with inflation and stagnant wages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

It has also provoked debate over whether the mission of higher education — and help paying for it — should be tied to a paycheck after graduation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Barzar started to put a small amount of his paycheck into the account administered by T. Rowe Price, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

"I'm going to have to increase the amount of my paycheck that goes into a private pension, which obviously isn't good with cost of living through the roof," he says.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

“If she’s old enough to pull a paycheck, she’s old enough to pay rent,” Dad yelled.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

That is hitting a U.S. economy that is already grappling with price pressures in other sectors, eating into Americans’ paychecks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Now, paychecks are missing — and so is a truck.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

As paychecks lagged, real wages fell—down 3.6% over the year ending in June 2022—and the federal minimum wage reached its lowest real value since 1956.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Peta estimates that half of all households don’t save any of their paychecks in a normal year, meaning “this can’t go on forever,” as he puts it.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

Saloon keepers cashed paychecks, supplied a mailing address for immigrants who had not yet found a permanent home, and, in many places, provided a place to sleep for five dollars a night.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler