pay

noun uncountable

UK /peɪ/

1
money that you receive for doing your job
They were demanding higher pay.
pay and conditions:
There will be improvements in pay and conditions for all staff.
basic pay (=your pay without extra payments):
The basic pay is so low that you end up putting in lots of overtime.
Synonyms and related words
Wages and salaries
wage
salary
pay
1. 1a
  connected with pay
  a pay rise/increase:
  They received a pay increase that was much higher than expected.
  a pay freeze (=a decision not to increase pay):
  A pay freeze is thought to be likely.
  Synonyms and related words
  Wages and salaries
  wage
  salary
  pay

phrases

in the pay of someone

holiday/maternity/sick etc pay

pay

noun uncountable

US /peɪ/

1
money that you receive for doing your job
They were demanding higher pay.
pay raise:
He had hoped for a pay raise, not just a promotion.
basic pay (=your pay without extra payments):
The basic pay is so low that you end up putting in lots of overtime.
Synonyms and related words
Wages and salaries
wage
salary
pay
1. 1a
  connected with pay
  a pay increase:
  They received a pay increase that was much higher than expected.
  a pay freeze (=a decision not to increase pay):
  A pay freeze is thought to be likely.
  Synonyms and related words
  Wages and salaries
  wage
  salary
  pay

phrases

in the pay of someone

vacation/maternity/sick etc. pay

pay

verb

UK /peɪ/

Word Forms

present tense
I/you/we/they	pay
he/she/it	pays
present participle	paying
past tense	paid
past participle	paid

1
intransitive/transitive to give money in order to buy something
pay for:
Let me pay for dinner.
pay someone for something:
Can I pay you for this?
pay by:
Will you be paying by cash, cheque, or credit card?
pay with:
I’d like to pay with my card.
pay in dollars/pounds etc:
Can I pay in dollars?
pay (in) cash:
There’s a reduction if you pay cash.
pay the bill:
Can I pay the bill, please?
Synonyms and related words
To spend or to pay money
disburse
spend
pay
1. 1a
  intransitive/transitive to give money to someone who does a job for you
  pay someone for something:
  We still haven’t paid them for the repairs to the roof.
  pay someone to do something:
  We had to pay them over £100 to sort it out.
  pay to have/get something done:
  Now I’ll have to pay to get the car fixed.
  Synonyms and related words
  To spend or to pay money
  disburse
  spend
  pay
2. 1b
  intransitive/transitive to give a company, institution etc money that you owe them
  We’ll probably pay more in tax this year.
  Did you pay the gas bill?
  Synonyms and related words
  To pay, or to not pay money you owe
  amortise
  amortize
  clear
3. 1c
  transitive to give someone their salary
  Some of the workers haven’t been paid for weeks.
  Synonyms and related words
  Words used to describe wages and salaries
  earnings-related
  gross
  hourly
2
intransitive/transitive if a job pays a particular amount of money, you get that amount for doing it
She was in a job paying over £60,000 a year.
My new job pays well.
Synonyms and related words
Words used to describe wages and salaries
earnings-related
gross
hourly
1. 2a
  intransitive if a business pays, it earns money
  We have a lot of hard work ahead if we’re going to make the business pay.
  Synonyms and related words
  Relating to making profit
  break-even point
  commercial
  speculative
3
intransitive/transitive to have a good result
it pays to do something:
It pays to cover the pool to keep out falling leaves.
it pays someone to do something:
It would pay you to get it properly checked.
crime doesn’t pay:
The message you get from the film is simple: crime doesn’t pay.
Synonyms and related words
To be advantageous and yield benefits
pay off
pay
repay
4
intransitive to suffer because of something that you have done
It was an outrage, and somebody was going to pay.
pay for:
They had made him look like a fool and now they were going to pay for it.
pay dearly for something (=suffer a lot because of something):
We may pay dearly for our arrogance.
make someone pay (for something):
She had ruined his life and now he was going to make her pay.
Synonyms and related words
To be in, or to get into a difficult situation
run out of road
suffer
undergo
5
you get what you pay for!
an exclamation used to express your frustration with some service
Employees often use the phrase “You get what you pay for” to justify their mistreatment of customers.
Submitted by:
Boris Marchenko from Russian Federation on 12/11/2014
Open Dictionary - November2014
6
pay it forward
a philosophy that the receiver of a gift, feeling grateful for a kindness, at the request of the gifter must not say thank you, instead they are to pay the kindness forward when the opportunity presents itself
My only request is that you Pay It Forward when the opportunity presents itself.
Submitted by:
BMB from United States on 30/11/2016
Open Dictionary - November2016

phrases

pay court to someone

pay someone a compliment

pay dividends

pay for itself

pay good money for something

pay lip service to something

pay the penalty/price for something

pay someone/something a visit/call

pay through the nose (for something)

pay tribute/homage to someone

pay your respects (to someone)

pay your way

phrasal verbs

pay back

pay in

pay into

pay off

pay out

pay up

pay

verb

US /peɪ/

Word Forms

present tense
I/you/we/they	pay
he/she/it	pays
present participle	paying
past tense	paid
past participle	paid

1
intransitive/transitive to give money in order to buy something
pay for:
Let me pay for dinner.
pay someone for something:
Can I pay you for this?
pay by:
Will you be paying by cash, check, or credit card?
pay with:
I’d like to pay with my credit card.
pay in dollars/pounds etc.:
Can I pay in dollars?
pay (in) cash:
There’s a reduction if you pay cash.
pay the bill/check:
Can I pay the bill, please?
Synonyms and related words
To spend or to pay money
disburse
spend
pay
1. 1a
  intransitive/transitive to give money to someone who does a job for you
  pay someone to do something:
  We had to pay them over $300 to fix it.
  pay someone for something:
  We still haven’t paid them for the repairs to the roof.
  pay to have/get something done:
  Now I’ll have to pay to get the car fixed.
  Synonyms and related words
  To spend or to pay money
  disburse
  spend
  pay
2. 1b
  transitive to give someone their salary
  Some of the workers haven’t been paid for weeks.
  Synonyms and related words
  Words used to describe wages and salaries
  earnings-related
  gross
  hourly
3. 1c
  intransitive/transitive to give a company, institution, etc. money that you owe them
  We’ll probably pay more in tax this year.
  Did you pay the gas bill?
  Synonyms and related words
  To pay, or to not pay money you owe
  amortize
  clear
  compound
2
intransitive/transitive if a job pays a particular amount of money, you get that amount for doing it
She was in a job paying over $60,000 a year.
My new job pays well.
Synonyms and related words
Words used to describe wages and salaries
earnings-related
gross
hourly
1. 2a
  intransitive if a business pays, it earns money
  We have a lot of hard work ahead if we’re going to make the business pay.
  Synonyms and related words
  Relating to making profit
  break-even point
  commercial
  speculative
3
intransitive/transitive to have a good result
crime doesn’t pay:
The message you get from the movie is simple: crime doesn’t pay.
it pays to do something:
It pays to cover the pool to keep out falling leaves.
it pays someone to do something:
It would pay you to get it properly checked.
Synonyms and related words
To be advantageous and yield benefits
pay off
pay
be worth someone’s while
4
intransitive to suffer because of something that you have done
It was an outrage, and somebody was going to pay.
pay for:
They had made him look like a fool and now they were going to pay for it.
pay dearly for something (=suffer a lot because of something):
We may pay dearly for our arrogance.
make someone pay (for something):
She had ruined his life and now he was going to make her pay.
Synonyms and related words
To be in, or to get into a difficult situation
run out of road
suffer
undergo
5
you get what you pay for!
an exclamation used to express your frustration with some service
Employees often use the phrase “You get what you pay for” to justify their mistreatment of customers.
Submitted by:
Boris Marchenko from Russian Federation on 12/11/2014
Open Dictionary - November2014
6
pay it forward
a philosophy that the receiver of a gift, feeling grateful for a kindness, at the request of the gifter must not say thank you, instead they are to pay the kindness forward when the opportunity presents itself
My only request is that you Pay It Forward when the opportunity presents itself.
Submitted by:
BMB from United States on 30/11/2016
Open Dictionary - November2016

phrases

pay court to someone

pay someone a compliment

pay dividends

pay for itself

pay good money for something

pay lip service to something

pay the penalty/price for something

pay someone/something a visit/call

pay through the nose (for something)

pay tribute/homage to someone

pay your respects (to someone)

pay your way

phrasal verbs

pay back

pay down

pay in

pay into

pay off

pay out

pay up

pay ​‌‌‌

pay ​‌‌‌

pay ​‌‌‌

you get what you pay for!

pay it forward

pay ​‌‌‌

you get what you pay for!

pay it forward

pay

pay

pay

pay