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as in to bribe
to influence someone with a bribe
she paid off the security guard so that she could steal whatever she liked
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in profit
the amount of money left when expenses are subtracted from the total amount received
the payoff on the investment was only about $500
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pivotal
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of payoff
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 19 Aug. 2025
But even if the Bears were forced to pay off the outstanding debt, that alone is unlikely to be enough to satisfy city lawmakers who are key in providing the necessary votes to advance any legislation to help the team.
—Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
The largest bribe Lewis-Martin is accused of soliciting was a $50,000 payoff from Tiang Li Jin, the owner of a Queens mall that has been the site of Adams campaign fundraisers that’ve raised straw donor concerns.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for payoff
Noun
Currently in production, the film sees naive college freshman Wendy (Fisher) get trapped in a vicious blackmail scheme by her own roommate, being forced into a seedy strip club to pay off the debt.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 19 Aug. 2025
But even if the Bears were forced to pay off the outstanding debt, that alone is unlikely to be enough to satisfy city lawmakers who are key in providing the necessary votes to advance any legislation to help the team.
—Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
If Sanders spends the next few months making gains in the film room and learning to process a complex offense, the payoff could be substantial.
—Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
The largest bribe Lewis-Martin is accused of soliciting was a $50,000 payoff from Tiang Li Jin, the owner of a Queens mall that has been the site of Adams campaign fundraisers that’ve raised straw donor concerns.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for payoff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for payoff
Verb
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Officials would've had to raise taxes to pay for these projects, County Commissioner Marty Heffner said during a meeting in 2021.—
Kristine Phillips,
IndyStar,
26 Aug. 2025
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Mecklenburg voters will decide the fate of a referendum to raise the county’s sales tax to pay for road, rail and bus projects this November.—
Mary Ramsey,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Both firms are vying to replace ABC Security, a company that has held the contract since 2018 and whose chief executive was closely tied to a central figure in the federal corruption case filed in January against Thao, her romantic partner and the businessmen accused of bribing the former mayor.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
17 July 2025
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But his first two bids for Wisconsin’s governorship failed because opponents bribed delegates at the state’s Republican nominating convention.—
Time,
Time,
16 July 2025
Noun
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And this week’s results highlighted the scale of the challenge as the company warned tariffs will hit its profits moving forward, upping the impact to be between $150 million and $175 million.—
Mark Faithfull,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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Packaging food company Hormel Foods tumbled 13% after issuing a downbeat quarterly profit forecast.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In the years ahead, Starship is set to serve a pivotal role in future U.S. spaceflight.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
23 Aug. 2025
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But the basketball legend played a pivotal role in getting Memorial Stadium built In 1920, Allen’s football team, which hadn’t been doing so well, played the vaunted Nebraska Cornhuskers to a tie.—
Randy Mason
August 22,
Kansas City Star,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Many felt self-regulation is not enough, according to the institution that hosted the event, and researchers are gearing up to meet again in Manchester, England, and Singapore to discuss next steps.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
1 Sep. 2025
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Hopping onto the monochromatic look, and keeping the feminine ties to the silhouette and not the color scheme, these $90 take on the coquette trend and meets it with its sporty figure.—
Tiana Randall,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For recruiting purposes, the White House specifically ordered ICE to buy two Mustangs, which are joining 25 new Chevrolet Tahoes, along with Ford Raptor pickups and top-end GMC SUVs as part of the fleet, according to purchasing data.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
21 Aug. 2025
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At that point, farmer DeWitt V. Brown bought the bridge and moved it to his land.—
Domenica Bongiovanni,
IndyStar,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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With Memphis favored, the Tigers' depth and speed should be decisive, but Chattanooga brings enough toughness to make this an intriguing early-season test under the lights in Memphis.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
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The economics were decisive: Scoring 50,000 CVEs with LLMs cost around $2,400; scaling to 250,000 CVEs with hourly updates would approach $288,000 per day.—
Michael Roytman,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Instead, the person must show race was the crucial and deciding factor.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2025
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The bullpen gave up the lead on the first pitch, and then three more in the deciding 10th inning.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
27 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Payoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/payoff. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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