PAYS OFF Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

pays off

verb

present tense third-person singular of pay off

as in pays

to give what is owed for I finally paid off the loan

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

repudiates

as in bribes

to influence someone with a bribe she paid off the security guard so that she could steal whatever she liked

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pays off Meta and Microsoft prove why patience pays off Not every tech stock got slammed last week. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026 The obvious effort that Pascal spent practicing the cello pays off in the scenes where Alex intensely plays the instrument for his own private reasons, as if asking the same thing of himself. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 2026 This opaqueness from earlier in the season pays off in the form of John recounting the brutal methods the Manhunter used to decimate this planet, involving a fear gas that made people kill one another and jump to their deaths. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026 Quarterly reporting cycles do not reward discipline that pays off over a longer horizon than a single reporting period. — Hiren Dhaduk, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026 And despite the reputation, not every bet pays off for Moody. — Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026 Whether that trade actually pays off depends on your vehicle, your driving habits and how the numbers line up against real repair-cost data. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026 Being able to bring directing ideas into the writing itself, and getting a handle on the complex psychological stakes the writers had built in, so they could be properly showcased later, saves a lot of time and usually pays off. — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026 Becoming a regular pays off more than any one-off negotiation. — Lauren Schuster, Sacbee.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pays off

Verb

So instead of making teams whole each time, the NFL now just pays teams’ travel expenses for their international game under the rationale that every team will lose a home game—and, in turn, home game ticket revenue—during that time.

— Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 16 Oct. 2026
The result is a politics in which almost everyone agrees that reform is urgently needed, provided someone else pays, and their own group’s advantages remain untouched.

— Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of pays

Verb

When backed by the federal Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, which pays up to $3 per kilogram of clean fuel, these factory installations become viable immediately.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 23 Sep. 2026
If approved, the company pays up to the plan’s coverage limit.

— Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of pays up

Verb

The mid-weight denim is rigid, made of 100 percent cotton rigid denim and has a bit of a rustic feel.

— Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
When healthy, Ohtani has the ability to break out of even the most dire of slumps with an otherworldly performance, like that three-homer (as a hitter), 10-strikeout (as a pitcher) all-timer.

— Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of has

Verb

The most important job of the General Assembly is to adopt a state budget, in a timely manner, that meets the moment and invests in the future.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026
On the prison bus, Thomas meets Lisa, his con-artist partner-to-be from episode one.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of meets

Verb

That follows two $500,000 ad buys from the business group, which has historically aligned with Republicans, praising incumbent Sens.

— semafor.com, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Simpler battery packs lower costs The company buys battery cells and assembles its own packs rather than manufacturing the cells themselves.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of buys

Verb

Artificial plays like a modern-day parable in which the trickster god seduces the innocent.

— E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
Diaz centers music as the emotional vehicle that provides a philosophical structure for the character tropes and in turn psychologically seduces the audience to internalize certain ideas of social dynamics.

— Damaly Gonzalez, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of seduces

Browse Nearby Words

pays (for)

pays off

pays up

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pays off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pays%20off. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of pays off

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes