paymaster

noun

pay·​mas·​ter ˈpā-ˌma-stər How to pronounce paymaster (audio)
: an officer or agent whose duty it is to pay salaries or wages

Examples of paymaster in a Sentence

She worked as the company's paymaster for 22 years.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
John Diefenbaker, who was Prime Minister in the fifties and sixties, was of the same largely western Canada kind that emphasizes a suspicion of the Ottawa élite and their Toronto (and Montreal) paymasters. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025 No more talk of proxy war, of how the strings of the terrorist groups known as Hamas and Hezbollah were being pulled by their Iranian paymasters, a reality widely contested by naive campus protesters not focusing on the bigger picture. Editorial, Boston Herald, 5 Oct. 2024 But Houthi predation could be curtailed dramatically if America and its allies move to a policy of extended attribution, whereby Houthi actions have consequences not only for the Yemeni terror group itself but for its paymasters in Tehran as well. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2024 Trump’s transactional, unreliable foreign policy impulses and his proclivity to bow to Iran’s paymaster, Putin, all reek of weakness. Jared Moskowitz, Sun Sentinel, 29 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for paymaster 

Word History

First Known Use

1537, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of paymaster was in 1537

Dictionary Entries Near paymaster

Cite this Entry

“Paymaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paymaster. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

paymaster

noun
pay·​mas·​ter -ˌmas-tər How to pronounce paymaster (audio)
: an officer or agent of an employer whose duty it is to pay salaries or wages
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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