1
2
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of pay off
Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 29 May 2026
Anthropic’s latest funding round further demonstrates that its foundational commitment to commercial applications of its technology—writing code, discovering software bugs, and white-labeling enterprise chatbots around the globe—is paying off.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 29 May 2026
Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
Maurel is less interested in narrative payoff than in emotional texture.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 25 May 2026
Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pay off
Verb
For example, paying off high-interest debt with a home equity agreement is probably a bad idea; doing so with a home equity loan with a much lower rate than the credit card debt itself may actually be a good move.
—Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 29 May 2026
Anthropic’s latest funding round further demonstrates that its foundational commitment to commercial applications of its technology—writing code, discovering software bugs, and white-labeling enterprise chatbots around the globe—is paying off.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 29 May 2026
Noun
Why these rituals matter beyond the meals The food is only part of the payoff.
—Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
Maurel is less interested in narrative payoff than in emotional texture.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 25 May 2026
Adjective
Not wrong for much of the last three decades — but Saturday night’s gig, and all the joyous revelry surrounding it, showed why the Live ’25 Tour has been payoff enough for none of them to look back in anger at any of it.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pay off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pay off
Verb
-
The row between crypto companies and banks came down to whether those offering stablecoin accounts should be able to pay interest on deposits like traditional bank accounts, with banking groups warning that the stability of the financial system could be undermined as people move their money.—
Billy Bambrough,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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To pay for her medical bills, the family had to sell most of their remaining cattle and goats, a bitter blow after years of drought had already decimated local herds.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
In 2022, veteran homicide detective Phong Tran was accused of bribing a witness in a murder case and then lying about it.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
28 May 2026
-
Evidence later surfaced that Judge Frank Wilson had been bribed.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
24 May 2026
Noun
-
In the end, the non-profit decided not to move ahead.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
-
Effectively, the commission regulates for profit, filling its own pockets with massive fines.—
Jeremy Talcott,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
Trivia questions, the barrier for entry, center around pivotal women in history.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2026
-
That makes their result a pivotal statement not only about the chemistry that supports life, but also about whether quantum computers are needed to understand it.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Fast-food restaurants, once the first stop for Americans looking to get at least one meal in before a long work day, are fighting to win back customers.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
1 Sep. 2025
-
Compared with Let’s Move’s easygoing recommendations—children should get at least one hour of physical activity each day, and everyone should drink one more glass of water—MAHA is also considerably more macho.—
Tom Bartlett,
The Atlantic,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This workshop will teach you how to remove your lawn and create a watershed-wise landscape; managing weeds, pests and disease; and lawn care strategies to improve resilience.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
18 May 2026
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Cuba's shootdown in 1996 of two Cessna aircraft operated by the Brothers to the Rescue was a watershed moment in decades of hostilities between the two countries.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
16 May 2026
Verb
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And in case there were any remaining doubts that masks never had the slightest chance of stopping respiratory viruses, of the studies that met their inclusion criteria, all of them came after 2019.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
-
In this screen-free environment, the two narrators meet and form a friendship that strengthens them both.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
In any case, Judy doesn’t buy it.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
1 June 2026
-
Follow Eva Longoria’s lead and buy the bestselling Plongeant, the sleek style with a plunging neckline.—
Mary Winston Nicklin,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pay off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pay%20off. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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