pay off
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
pay off
verb pays off · paying off · paid off
- To bribe, especially to deter oversight. I thought the guards would give us trouble, but apparently he had paid them off.
- 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; to repay.
He paid off the loan three months early.
Similar: extinguish
- 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.
- 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.
- To fall to leeward, as the head of a vessel under sail.
Translations
Every language
verb to pay back (repay, pay off) the entirety of a loan, thereby effecting the release of a lien on
| Français | acquitter, payer |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | auszahlen, abbezahlen |
| Русский | выпла́чивать vypláčivatʹ, вы́платить výplatitʹ, покрыва́ть pokryvátʹ, покры́ть pokrýtʹ |
verb to bribe, especially to deter oversight
| Français | soudoyer |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | bestechen, kaufen |
| Italiano | corrompere |
| Română | mitui |
| Русский | подкупа́ть podkupátʹ, подкупи́ть podkupítʹ |
verb to become worthwhile; to produce a net benefit
| Español | valer la pena, merecer la pena, salir a cuenta, compensar el esfuerzo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 報われる mukuwareru |
| Português | compensar |
| Français | payer, porter ses fruits |
| Deutsch | sich auszahlen, sich lohnen |
| Italiano | ricompensare, valere la pena |
| Română | da roade, merita, dovedi profitabil |
| Русский | окупа́ться okupátʹsja, окупи́ться okupítʹsja |
verb to pay back; to repay
| Français | revaloir |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | zurückzahlen, abzahlen |
| Italiano | ripagare |
| Ελληνικά | αποπληρώνω apopliróno, εξοφλώ exofló, ξεπληρώνω xepliróno |
| Română | rambursa, achita, plăti înapoi |
| Русский | выпла́чивать vypláčivatʹ, вы́платить výplatitʹ, распла́чиваться raspláčivatʹsja, расплати́ться rasplatítʹsja |
Talk about this word "pay off." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pay%20off. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pay off. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pay%20off "pay off." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pay%20off.
Cite this
MLA
APA
Chicago
BibTeX
@misc{pay_off_2026,
title = {pay off},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pay%20off},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
