Laxi Dictionary

American Dictionary

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Definition pay in American English

pay verb

verb
/peɪ/

The verb pay is never followed by a direct object that refers to the thing you are buying. We pay for a product or service:

✗ Credit cards are used to pay the product you purchased without using cash.

✓ Credit cards are used to pay for the product you purchased without using cash.

✗ At that time, very few people could pay a college education.

✓ At that time, very few people could pay for a college education.

You can also use pay in these patterns:

▪ pay someone for something

▪ pay an amount of money for something

▪ pay someone an amount of money for something

It was rumored that Texaco had paid the government over $800 million for drilling rights.

Have you paid your brother for the movie tickets?

However, pay can be used with a direct object which refers to money that is paid for a specific purpose. The nouns most frequently used in this pattern are:

bill, charge, compensation, debt, fine, price, fee, rent, salary, tax, wage

The electricity was cut off after Jennings failed to pay the bill for three months.

Married couples can opt to be taxed jointly, making them both responsible for paying tax on their combined income.

1

to give money in order to buy something

Example

Let me pay for dinner.

Example

Can I pay you for this?

Example

Will you be paying by cash, check, or credit card?

Example

I'd like to pay with my credit card.

Example

Can I pay in dollars?

Example

There's a reduction if you pay cash.

Example

Can I pay the bill, please?

Synonyms and related words
disburse spend pay
1.1

to give money to someone who does a job for you

Example

We had to pay them over $300 to fix it.

Example

We still haven't paid them for the repairs to the roof.

Example

Now I'll have to pay to get the car fixed.

Synonyms and related words
disburse spend pay
1.2

to give someone their salary

Example

Some of the workers haven't been paid for weeks.

Synonyms and related words
earnings-related gross hourly
1.3

to give a company, institution, etc. money that you owe them

Example

We'll probably pay more in tax this year.

Example

Did you pay the gas bill?

Synonyms and related words
amortize clear compound
2

if a job pays a particular amount of money, you get that amount for doing it

Example

She was in a job paying over $60,000 a year.

Example

My new job pays well.

Synonyms and related words
earnings-related gross hourly
2.1

if a business pays, it earns money

Example

We have a lot of hard work ahead if we're going to make the business pay.

Synonyms and related words
break-even point commercial speculative
3

to have a good result

Example

The message you get from the movie is simple: crime doesn't pay.

Example

It pays to cover the pool to keep out falling leaves.

Example

It would pay you to get it properly checked.

Synonyms and related words
pay off pay be worth someone’s while
4

to suffer because of something that you have done

Example

It was an outrage, and somebody was going to pay.

Example

They had made him look like a fool and now they were going to pay for it.

Example

We may pay dearly for our arrogance.

Example

She had ruined his life and now he was going to make her pay.

Synonyms and related words
run out of road suffer undergo
5

an exclamation used to express your frustration with some service

Example

Employees often use the phrase "You get what you pay for" to justify their mistreatment of customers.

6

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

Example

My only request is that you Pay It Forward when the opportunity presents itself.

Definition pay in American English

Related Words

Words related to pay:

back pay (noun) combat pay (noun) the earth (phrase) equal pay (noun) gender pay gap (noun) hazard pay (noun) in the pay of someone (phrase) make the ultimate sacrifice (phrase) not pay any mind (phrase) pay (verb) pay (noun) pay attention (phrase) pay back (phrasal verb) pay court to someone (phrase) pay dirt (noun) pay dividends (phrase) pay down (phrasal verb) pay envelope (noun) pay for itself (phrase) pay good money for something (phrase) pay in (phrasal verb) pay into (phrasal verb) pay it forward (verb) pay lip service to something (phrase) pay off (phrasal verb) pay out (phrasal verb) pay phone (noun) pay raise (noun) pay scale (noun) pay settlement (noun) pay someone a compliment (phrase) pay someone back with interest (phrase) pay a (phrase) pay the for something (phrase) pay through the nose (for something) (phrase) pay tribute to (phrase) pay to someone (phrase) pay TV (noun) pay up (phrasal verb) pay wall (noun) pay your respects (to someone) (phrase) pay your way (phrase) pay-as-you-throw (adjective) pay-per-view (noun) charged for the privilege (phrase) performance-related pay (noun) redundancy pay (noun) rob Peter to pay Paul (phrase) severance pay (noun) sick pay (noun) strike pay (noun) take-home pay (noun) there’ll be hell to pay (phrase) etc. pay (phrase) wave and pay (noun)