English Explanatory Dictionary

pay

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or services.
  2. To discharge, as a debt or other obligation, by giving or doing what is due or required.
  3. To be profitable for.
  4. To yield as a benefit.
  5. To give (something else than money).
  6. To be profitable or worth the effort.
  7. To discharge an obligation or debt.
  8. To suffer consequences.
  9. To admit that a joke, punchline, etc., was funny.
noun
  1. Money given in return for work; salary or wages.
  2. A paying job; a paying concern.
adj
  1. Operable or accessible on deposit of coins.
  2. Pertaining to or requiring payment.
verb
  1. To cover (the bottom of a vessel, a seam, a spar, etc.) with tar or pitch, or a waterproof composition of tallow, resin, etc.; to smear.
name
  1. A diminutive of the unisex given name Payton.
  2. A surname.

Pronunciation

pā /peɪ/ [pʰeɪ̯] En-us-pay.ogg

Word forms

pay pays paying paid payed no-table-tags glossary payest paidest paidst payedst payeth

Etymology

From Middle English payen, from Old French paiier (“pay”), from Medieval Latin pācāre (“to settle, satisfy”) from Latin pācāre (“to pacify”). In this sense, displaced native Old English ġield (“pay”) and ġieldan (“to pay”), whence Modern English yield.

Synonyms

ante up cough up defray do the needful expend foot the bill fork out fork over imburse lay out pay pay the freight pay the piper pay the price pay up pony up quit shell out spend stump up yield return

Antonyms

buy earn default levant repudiate steal welsh discharge waive

Related words

cash on the barrelhead plunk

Derived words

ability to pay borrow from Peter to pay Paul buy and pay for consent or pay crime doesn't pay devil to pay forepay hell to pay high-paying if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys low-paying mispay not pay any mind outpay overpay payable pay-and-display pay and display pay-as-you-eat pay-as-you-go pay attention pay a visit pay back in someone's own coin pay-by-wave pay dearly pay dirt pay dividends pay down payee payer pay for pay for itself pay for one's whistle pay for play pay good money after bad pay heed pay homage to pay home pay-in slip pay it forward payment pay nature's debt pay no heed pay no mind pay off old scores payola pay one's addresses pay one's debt to society pay one's last respects pay one's own freight payor pay or okay pay or play pay overs pay-per-click pay-per-install pay per play pay-per-view pay someone's way pay the debt of nature

Translations

Czech: vyplatit se Danish: betale sig Danish: lønne sig Dutch: lonen Dutch: opbrengen Esperanto: profitigi Finnish: kannattaa French: payer German: sich lohnen Greek: αποδίδω Hungarian: megéri Hungarian: kifizetődik Hungarian: jövedelmez Hungarian: rentábilis Latin: compenso Latin: penso Latin: repenso Norwegian Bokmål: lønne seg Norwegian Nynorsk: løne seg Norwegian Nynorsk: lønne seg Portuguese: compensar Romanian: merita Romanian: a fi profitabil Russian: окупа́ться Russian: окупи́ться Scottish Gaelic: pàigh Serbo-Croatian: isplatiti se Slovene: izplačati se Spanish: pagar Spanish: redituar Spanish: valer la pena Spanish: salir a cuenta Swedish: betala sig Swedish: löna sig Walloon: ripayî
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