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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

The goal with an annuity is to put down a lump sum today that will give you a payout for the fixed costs you want to cover for your lifetime.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

However, most life-insurance companies pay dividends to customers around their individual policy’s anniversary date, rather than a one-time payout to all policyholders at the same time.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 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

Each payout is multiplied by the probability of its occurring, and these products are then summed up to give the average or expected payout.

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

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

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Read more: These insurance companies are sending record-breaking cash payouts to their customers this year.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 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

The near flip-of-a-coin chance of being left empty-handed on liability and medical claims, and the yearslong trend toward relatively fewer payouts, mirrors what’s happening to homeowners and their insurance coverage, the Journal previously reported.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 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