payoff

1 of 3

noun

pay·​off ˈpā-ˌȯf How to pronounce payoff (audio)
1
2
: the act or occasion of receiving money or material gain especially as compensation or as a bribe
3
: the climax of an incident or enterprise
specifically : the denouement of a narrative
4
: a decisive fact or factor resolving a situation or bringing about a definitive conclusion

payoff

2 of 3

adjective

: yielding results in the final test : decisive

pay off

3 of 3

verb

paid off; paying off; pays off

transitive verb

1
a
: to pay (a debt or a creditor) in full
b
: to give all due wages to
especially : to pay in full and discharge (an employee)
c
: bribe
2
: to inflict retribution on
3
: to allow (a thread or rope) to run off a spool or drum

intransitive verb

: to yield returns

Examples of payoff in a Sentence

Noun You'll have to work hard but there'll be a big payoff in the end. We expected more of a payoff for all our hard work. We made a lot of sacrifices with little payoff. Several city officials have been accused of receiving payoffs from the company. He lost his factory job but received a payoff and a pension. Verb I finally paid off the loan. she paid off the security guard so that she could steal whatever she liked
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build, big payoff. Zack Sharf, Variety, 20 Feb. 2024 Colorful pants require minimal effort, but instantly make any basic outfit anew with their eye-popping payoff. Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 11 Feb. 2024 My mortgage payoff story: My husband and I paid off the house in the spring of 2023 thanks to making extra payments and taking advantage of a mortgage recast. Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Senate results contradict California stereotype March 6, 2024 There was no ballot-stuffing, no illicit payoffs, no decisive carton of uncounted ballots mysteriously turning up in the night at a fruit stand outside Yucaipa. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Habit #2: Get The Mortgage Paid Or Have Payoff Within Sight According to research from my 2021 book, What The Happiest Retirees Know, retirees within five years of mortgage payoff are four times more likely to be happy. Wes Moss, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 But that payoff can seem awfully distant, especially after so much effort spent trying to make your most boring chores appealing to children with short attention spans. Kate Cray, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2024 That was when a productivity surge — an early payoff from the sudden embrace of laptops, cellphones and the internet — helped allow the Federal Reserve to keep borrowing rates low because inflation remained under control even as the economy and the job market sizzled. Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 21 Feb. 2024 For candidates who can afford a few bumps in the road, an uncertain payoff simply might not seem like a big gamble. Iese Business School, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
Verb
Politics How, and when, should San Diego pay off its $3.4B pension debt? David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2024 My mortgage payoff story: My husband and I paid off the house in the spring of 2023 thanks to making extra payments and taking advantage of a mortgage recast. Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 The business strategy paid off, and Rap Snacks made $5 million within its first five years, Lindsay said. Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2024 That bet may have paid off, as Toyota boasts strong hybrid sales even as the rest of the EV market slows down. Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 6 Mar. 2024 The strategy paid off for Logano, while Blaney finished the race in 11th place. Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 3 Mar. 2024 After paying off the debt on the place, Trump’s share of the sale came to roughly $127 million, per documents from his fraud trial. Kyle Mullins, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 But the agency found that medical debt is typically a poor predictor of whether someone is likely to pay off other bills and loans. Noam Levey, NPR, 1 Mar. 2024 Investing in a vacation home has several perks such as more frequent vacations but also tax benefits and generating rental income that can help pay off the home's mortgage and maintenance costs. Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'payoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1905, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1932, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1607, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of payoff was in 1607

Dictionary Entries Near payoff

Cite this Entry

“Payoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/payoff. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

payoff

1 of 2 noun
pay·​off
ˈpā-ˌȯf
1
2
: the last and most interesting part of an incident
the payoff of a story

pay off

2 of 2 verb
(ˈ)pā-ˈȯf
1
: to pay in full
pay off a mortgage
2
: to produce a profit
investments that pay off

Legal Definition

payoff

1 of 2 noun
pay·​off ˈpā-ˌȯf How to pronounce payoff (audio)
1
: the act or an instance of paying someone off : bribe compare kickback
2
: the act of paying a debt or creditor in full
would release the lien upon the payoff of the balance

pay off

2 of 2 transitive verb
1
: to pay (a debt or credit) in full
the loan was paid off
2
: bribe

More from Merriam-Webster on payoff

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