If you pay off a debt, you give someone all the money that you owe them.
It would take him the rest of his life to pay off that loan. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
[Also VERB noun PARTICLE]
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.
...his bid to raise funds to pay off his creditors. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
The sacked chief executive of the company was paid off with $161.5m. [VERBPARTICLE noun (not pronoun)]
[Also VERB noun PARTICLE]
3. phrasal verb
If an action pays off, it is successful or profitable after a period of time.
Sandra was determined to become a doctor and her persistence paid off. [VERBPARTICLE]
4. See also payoff
More Synonyms of pay off
See full dictionary entry for pay
pay off in British English
verb
1. (tr, adverb)
to pay all that is due in wages, etc, and discharge from employment
2. (tr, adverb)
to pay the complete amount of (a debt, bill, etc)
3. (intr, adverb)
to turn out to be profitable, effective, etc
the gamble paid off
4. (tr, adverb; orintr, preposition)
to take revenge on (a person) or for (a wrong done)
to pay someone off for an insult
5. (tr, adverb) informal
to give a bribe to
6. (intr, adverb) nautical
(of a vessel) to make leeway
nounpayoff
7.
the final settlement, esp in retribution
the payoff came when the gang besieged the squealer's house
8. informal
the climax, consequence, or outcome of events, a story, etc, esp when unexpected or improbable
9.
the final payment of a debt, salary, etc
10.
the time of such a payment
11. informal
a bribe
pay off in American English
1.
to pay all that is owed on (a debt, etc.) or to (a person, as in discharging fromemployment)
2.
to take revenge on (a wrongdoer) or for (a wrong done)
3.
to yield full recompense or return, for either good or evil
4. Informal
to bring about a desired result; succeed
5. Nautical
to swing or allow to swing away from the wind
said of the bow of a vessel
See full dictionary entry for pay
Examples of 'pay off' in a sentence
pay off
And if he could not pay off his debt, they would nail him to the wall.
Leasor, James TANK OF SERPENTS
I'm told there's still an old mortgage Harold's widow took out six years ago to pay off her husband's debts.
Tony Hillerman THE FALLEN MAN (1996)
Chinese translation of 'pay off'
pay off
vt
[debt, mortgage]还(還)清 (huánqīng)
[creditor etc]付清 (fùqīng)
vi
[scheme, decision, patience]得益 (déyì)
See pay
Nearby words of
pay off
pay envelope
pay for
pay in
pay off
pay out
pay packet
pay slip
All related terms of 'pay off'
pay up
( person, company ) 付清 fùqīng
pay out
( rope ) 松(鬆)出 sōngchū
pay in
( money, cheque ) 存入账(賬)户(戶) cúnrù zhànghù
pay for
( purchases ) 买(買) mǎi
pay back
( money, loan ) 偿(償)还(還) chánghuán
(phrasal verb)
Definition
to turn out successfully
Her persistence paid off in the end.
Synonyms
succeed
a move which would make any future talks even more unlikely to succeed