Sekirov Dictionary

pay off

verb 6
/ˈpeɪ.ɒf/ noun 6
forms 4

verb6

•
To pay back; to repay.
- He paid off the loan three months early.
•
To become worthwhile; to produce a net benefit.
- Her years of Spanish classes finally paid off when she found herself in Mexico and realized she could communicate with people.
•
To pay back (repay) the entirety of a loan, thereby effecting the release of a lien on (the thing that was financed).
- This contract requires you to pay off the car by 2025.
•
(informal) To bribe, especially to deter oversight.
- I thought the guards would give us trouble, but apparently he had paid them off.
•
To pay and discharge (an employee).
- The cook, who had been an indifferent worker on the trip over, came aboard drunk and was immediately paid off. Amazingly, twenty men applied to fill the vacancy. — 1959
To fall to leeward, as the head of a vessel under sail.

pay-off

/ˈpeɪ.ɒf/

noun6

•
A payment in full; the state of having been paid in full.
- At the current monthly payment level, it'll take 32 more months to reach pay-off.
•
A reward.
- What's the pay-off for putting up with her nonsense for ages on end?
•
A return on investment.
- How soon could we realistically expect any pay-off from loading up on shares of that company?
•
(informal) A bribe.
- The prison break never could have succeeded if it hadn't been for multiple pay-offs to various corrupt officers.
•
(informal) A resolution or justification of an event that has already occurred.
- Where's the pay-off for that whole segment of the plot?
•
Ellipsis of payoff pitch.
- The bases are loaded, so he'd better make the pay-off count.

forms

paid off · paying off · pays off · pay-offs

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