# pay off

Pronunciation: US say "pay-AWF" /peɪ ˈɔf/; UK say "pay-OF" /peɪ ˈɒf/

## Phrasal verb

1. To turn out to be worthwhile, bringing more benefit than it cost.
   - Simple: To be worth the effort or cost in the end.
   - _The gamble paid off when the startup was bought for twice its value._
   - _Better insulation should pay off within a few winters._
2. To repay the entire loan on something that was financed, so that the lender's lien on it is released.
   - Simple: To finish paying for something bought with a loan, like a car, so it is fully yours.
   - _My parents paid off the house the year I started college._
   - _Once you pay off the truck, the lender will mail you the title._
3. To pay back a debt, or the person to whom it is owed.
   - Simple: To pay back money you owe.
   - _She used her bonus to pay off two credit cards._
   - _He took a second job to pay off the friends who had lent him money._
5. To bribe someone, especially so that they will look the other way instead of checking or reporting. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To give someone money secretly so they will ignore something wrong.
   - _The developer was accused of paying off city officials to skip the safety inspection._
   - _Everyone knew the club owner paid the police off every month._
10. To pay what is owed to an employee and discharge them from service.
   - Simple: To give a worker their last pay and let them go.
   - _When the voyage ended, the captain paid off the crew on the dock._
   - _The mill paid off its seasonal hands at the end of October._
12. Of a sailing vessel or its head, to fall away to leeward.
   - Simple: Of a sailing ship, for the front to turn away from the wind.
   - _The helmsman let the bow pay off until the sails drew again._
   - _Caught head to wind, the schooner slowly paid off onto the new tack._

## Noun · pay-off

Pronunciation: US say "PAY-awf" /ˈpeɪ.ɔf/; UK say "PAY-of" /ˈpeɪ.ɒf/

4. A reward for something done or endured.
   - Simple: Something good you get for what you did or put up with.
   - _The real pay-off for years of night classes was the respect of her colleagues._
   - _Hikers who reach the summit get a stunning view as their pay-off._
6. A bribe: money given to influence someone dishonestly. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Money paid to someone to get them to do something dishonest.
   - _Investigators traced a series of pay-offs from the contractor to two council members._
   - _The fight was fixed, and the referee's pay-off arrived in an envelope of cash._
7. The return that an investment brings.
   - Simple: The money you get back from something you put money into.
   - _Solar panels cost a lot up front, but the pay-off comes through lower bills._
   - _Shareholders expect a quick pay-off from the merger._
8. A later resolution or justification of an event that has already happened, especially in a story. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: In a story, a later part that explains or finishes something that happened before.
   - _The locked drawer from the first chapter finally gets its pay-off in the last scene._
   - _Viewers complained that the season built up the villain's secret and then offered no pay-off._
9. Payment in full of what is owed, or the state of having been fully paid.
   - Simple: Paying all of what you owe, or the point when nothing is left to pay.
   - _At this rate, the mortgage will reach pay-off before she retires._
   - _Ask the lender for the exact pay-off amount before you sell the car._
11. Short for payoff pitch. *(slang)* — Ellipsis of payoff pitch.
   - Simple: Short for payoff pitch. In baseball, it is the pitch thrown with three balls and two strikes.
   - _Full count, two outs, and the pay-off is a fastball on the outside corner._
   - _The batter took the pay-off for ball four and jogged to first base._

## Origin

A noun formed from the verb pay off.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pay-off (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).