pay off

pay off
1) PHRASAL VERB If you pay off a debt, you give someone all the money that you owe them.

[V P n (not pron)] It would take him the rest of his life to pay off that loan. [Also V n P]

2) PHRASAL VERB If you pay off someone, you give them the amount of money that you owe them or that they are asking for, so that they will not take action against you or cause you any trouble.

[V P n (not pron)] ...his bid to raise funds to pay off his creditors...

In societies where corruption is endemic, decision-making is slowed as more politicians and officials have to be paid off. [Also V n P]

3) PHRASAL VERB If an action pays off, it is successful or profitable after a period of time.

[V P] Sandra was determined to become a doctor and her persistence paid off.

4) See also payoff

English dictionary. 2008.

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  • pay off — {v. phr.} 1. To pay the wages of. * /The men were paid off just before quitting time, the last day before the holiday./ 2. To pay and discharge from a job. * /When the building was completed he paid off the laborers./ 3. To hurt (someone) who has …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • pay off — {v. phr.} 1. To pay the wages of. * /The men were paid off just before quitting time, the last day before the holiday./ 2. To pay and discharge from a job. * /When the building was completed he paid off the laborers./ 3. To hurt (someone) who has …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • pay off — vt 1: to pay (a debt or credit) in full the loan was paid off 2: bribe Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • pay off — (something) to pay all of a debt. It took her six years to pay off her student loan. I guess I can afford a new car, but it s a lot of money and it s not easy to pay it off …   New idioms dictionary

  • pay-off — s.m.inv. ES ingl. 1. TS pubbl. frase finale di un annuncio o di un comunicato pubblicitario che riassume ed evidenzia il messaggio di vendita del prodotto 2. TS econ. risultato economico di un operazione 3. TS sport obiettivo che si intende… …   Dizionario italiano

  • pay off — ► pay off 1) dismiss with a final payment. 2) informal yield good results. Main Entry: ↑pay …   English terms dictionary

  • pay|off — «PAY F, OF», noun, adjective. –n. 1. the act of paying wages. 2. the time of such payment. 3. a) the returns, as from an enterprise or specific action; result: »You will see the payoff immediately…without need for specially trained operators… …   Useful english dictionary

  • pay off — (someone) to give someone money illegally to get them to do what you want. The pair had paid off local police to protect their drug selling operation …   New idioms dictionary

  • pay-off — index commission (fee) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • pay-off — ► NOUN informal 1) a payment, especially a bribe. 2) the return on investment or on a bet. 3) a final outcome …   English terms dictionary

  • pay off — verb 1. yield a profit or result (Freq. 4) His efforts finally paid off • Hypernyms: ↑yield, ↑pay, ↑bear • Verb Frames: Something s 2. eliminate by paying off ( …   Useful english dictionary

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