1022
done: She tried to leave the shop without paying (for the dress). | How soon can you pay me (for the work)? | The bank pays interest of 9% on savings. | We get paid by the hour/on Friday. | How much did you pay for that car? | 'Are you paying cash?' 'No, I'll pay by cheque.' | I paid £200 for the painting. | [+obj(i)+obj(d)] I paid him £200 (for this painting). I paid it to him in instalments. | I'll pay you (£3) to clean my car. | (fig.) This washing machine should pay for itself within a year. (=will make it possible to save the same amount of money as was needed to buy it) → see also PAY FOR 2 [T] to give (money that is owed); settle (a bill, debt etc): Have you paid the electricity bill yet? | to pay one's taxes/train fare 3 [T(in, into)] to put (money, a cheque etc) into a bank, an account etc, to be kept safe: Have you paid the cheque in yet/paid it into your account yet? 4 [I;T] to be profitable (to); produce advantage or gain that is worth the trouble or cost (to): We must make the farm pay, or we'll have to sell it. | Crime doesn't pay. | It won't pay (you) to argue with her. 5 [+adv] (of work, something done etc) to bring or give one money or something of value in return: This job pays well. | a poorly-paid job 6 [T(to)] to give, offer, or make: I shall pay a call on you tomorrow. | Pay attention to what I'm saying. | He certainly knows how to pay a compliment. | He paid his respects to the bishop. | [+obj(i)+obj(d)] I'll pay you a visit next week. 7 pay one's way to pay money for things as one buys them so as not to get into debt 8 he who pays the piper calls the tune saying the person who is paying for something can choose what it will be like 9 pay through the nose (for) infml to pay far too much (for) 10 pay/charge over the odds BrE to pay, or ask someone to pay, more for something than it is really worth: They're paying over the odds for the house, but of course that's because they're moving to Hampstead. | I'd checked the price of a fare home, but the driver tried to charge me well over the odds and got very abusive when I refused to pay. —-er n
pay sbdy./sthg. ⇔ back phr v [T(for)] 1 to return (what is owing) to (someone); REPAY: I'll pay you back tomorrow. | They can't pay back the loan. | [+obj(i)+obj(d)] Have I paid you back the £10 I borrowed/paid the £10 back to you? 2 also pay out BrE old-fash — to return bad treatment, rudeness etc, to (someone who has done something wrong to oneself): I'll pay him back for what he did to me!
pay for sthg. phr v [T] to receive punishment or suffering for: These people must be made to pay for their crimes. | He paid dearly for his unfaithfulness to her. | (fig.) We are paying for the fine summer with a wet winter. | [+v-ing] I'll make him pay for ruining my chances.
pay (sbdy./sthg. ⇔) off phr v 1 [T] to pay the whole of (a debt) 2 [T] to pay and dismiss from a job: His work was most unsatisfactory, so we paid him off at the end of the week. 3 [T] to pay (someone) to keep silent about a wrong or illegal act 4 [I] to be successful: Did your plan pay off? → see also PAYOFF
pay (sbdy./sthg. ⇔) out phr v 1 [I;T(= pay sthg. ⇔ out)] to make a usually large payment in return for (goods or services): I paid out a lot of money for that car. It's always me who has to pay out. 2 [T] (pay sthg. ⇔ out) to allow (especially a rope) to be pulled out gradually to a greater length 3 [T] (pay sbdy. ⇔ out) BrE old-fash for PAY back (2) → see also PAYOUT
pay sthg. ⇔ over phr v [T(to)] to make formal payment of (money)
pay up phr v [I] to pay money that is owed, especially unwillingly or late → compare PAID-UP
pay² n [U] 1 money received in exchange for work: He gets his pay each Thursday. | They are negotiating for a pay increase/rise. | It's interesting work but the pay isn't very good. | holiday/sick pay (=money given by an employer when one is on holiday or ill) 2 in the pay of especially derog employed by or working for: an informer who is in the pay of the police
Pay is a general word for the money you receive for work, but income means any money you receive regularly, whether from work or from rents etc: Have you any income apart from your pay? A salary is paid monthly into the bank (especially to professional people) and wages are paid weekly in cash (especially to people who work with their hands). Money paid for certain professional services (e.g. to a lawyer) is a fee.
pay·a·ble /'peɪəbəl/ adj [F] 1 (of a bill, debt etc) that must or may be paid: This bill is payable now. | payable in advance → compare RECEIVABLE 2 [+to] (of a cheque) having written on it the name of a particular person to whom the stated amount of money will be paid
pay-as-you-'go adj. [A] a pay-as-you-go MOBILE PHONE or Internet service is one that you must pay for before you can use it
pay-bed /'peɪbed/ n BrE a hospital bed in a publicly-owned hospital used by a person who does not pay for their treatment but who pays to have better conditions, e.g. a private room
pay-cheque BrE || paycheck AmE /'peɪ-tʃek/ n 1 [C] a cheque for a person's wages 2 [U] especially AmE the amount of wages a person earns → compare PAY PACKET
pay-day /'peɪdeɪ/ n [U] the day on which wages are paid
'pay dirt n [U] AmE 1 earth found to contain valuable minerals, such as gold 2 a valuable or useful discovery
PAYE /ˌpiː eɪ ˈwaɪ ˈiː/ n [U] Pay As You Earn; a system in the UK by which employers take INCOME TAX and NATIONAL INSURANCE payments from a person's wages before the wages are paid, and pay them directly to the government. This is the usual method of payment in the UK if you work for an employer: Are you self-employed or are you on PAYE?
pay-ee /ˌpeɪ'iː/ n tech a person to whom money, especially a cheque, is or should be paid
'pay ,envelope n AmE for PAY PACKET
paying 'guest n a person who lives in a private house and pays rent to the owner; a LODGER
paying-in book BrE || deposit book AmE — n a book of forms used when paying money into one's account at a bank, or when making regular payments through the bank to another organization
pay-load /'peɪləʊd/ n 1 (the weight of) the part of a load of a load-carrying vehicle for which payment is received 2 the amount of explosive in the head of a MISSILE 3 instruments and equipment carried in a spacecraft
pay-mas-ter /'peɪmɑːstə||ˌmæ-/ n 1 an official in a factory, the armed forces etc, who pays wages to people 2 [often pl.] derog a person who pays someone to do usually illegal work, and who therefore has control over the other person's actions: He was forced by his paymasters in the secret service to keep quiet about these murders.
pay-ment /'peɪmənt/ n 1 [U] the act of paying (PAY¹): Here is a cheque in payment of (=to pay) my account. | We expect prompt payment. | The room can be reserved on payment of a small deposit. | (fig.) All the payment I got for my trouble was insults. → see also NONPAYMENT 2 [C] an amount of money that has been or must be paid: monthly mortgage payments of £300 → see also BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, DOWN PAYMENT
Payne, Cyn-thi-a /peɪn, 'sɪnθiə/ (1933–) a British woman who used to run a BROTHEL (=a place where PROSTITUTES have sex for money), which was said to have been used by judges, lords, and police officers. Newspapers often referred to her as 'Madame Cyn' because the beginning of her name sounds like the word 'sin'.
pay-off /'peɪɒf||-ɔːf/ n [(the) S] infml 1 the act or time of paying wages, debts, money won at cards etc: He got a big payoff for agreeing to lose the game deliberately. 2 the end of a number of connected acts, especially the end of a story someone has been telling, when everything is explained → see also PAY OFF
pay-o-la /peɪ'ələ/ n [S;U] infml, especially AmE (the practice of making) a secret or not direct payment in return for a business favour: That disc jockey expects some payola for agreeing to plug a record on his radio show.
pay-out /'peɪ-aʊt/ n infml (an act of making) a usually large payment of money: a big payout on this month's lottery. → see also PAY OUT
'pay ,packet n BrE 1 || pay envelope AmE — an envelope containing a person's pay. People who are given their pay in this way are usually BLUE-COLLAR workers → see PAY² (USAGE) 2 || paycheck AmE — the amount of wages a person earns: a large pay packet
pay-per-'view adj pay-per-view films, sports games, concerts