pay definition | Dictionary.com

pay

1 [pey]

verb, paid or (Obsolete except for defs. 12, 24c ) payed; pay⋅ing; noun, adjective

–verb (used with object)

1.	to settle (a debt, obligation, etc.), as by transferring money or goods, or by doing something: Please pay your bill.

2.	to give over (a certain amount of money) in exchange for something: He paid twenty dollars for the shirt.

3.	to transfer money as compensation or recompense for work done or services rendered; to satisfy the claims of (a person, organization, etc.), as by giving money due: He paid me for my work.

4.	to defray (cost or expense).

5.	to give compensation for.

6.	to yield a recompense or return to; be profitable to: Your training will pay you well in the future.

7.	to yield as a return: The stock paid six percent last year.

8.	to requite, as for good, harm, or an offense: How can I pay her for her kindness and generosity?

9.	to give or render (attention, respects, compliments, etc.), as if due or fitting.

10.	to make (a call, visit, etc.).

11.	to suffer in retribution; undergo: You'll pay the penalty for your stubbornness!

12.	Nautical. to let (a ship) fall off to leeward.

–verb (used without object)

13.	to transfer money, goods, etc., as in making a purchase or settling a debt.

14.	to discharge a debt or obligation.

15.	to yield a return, profit, or advantage; be worthwhile: It pays to be courteous.

16.	to give compensation, as for damage or loss sustained.

17.	to suffer or be punished for something: The murderer paid with his life.

–noun

18.	the act of paying or being paid; payment.

19.	wages, salary, or a stipend.

20.	a person with reference to solvency or reputation for meeting obligations: The bank regards him as good pay.

21.	paid employment: in the pay of the enemy.

22.	reward or punishment; requital.

23.	a rock stratum from which petroleum is obtained.

–adjective

24.	requiring subscribed or monthly payment for use or service: pay television.

25.	operable or accessible on deposit of a coin or coins: a pay toilet.

26.	of or pertaining to payment.

—Verb phrases

27.

pay down,

a.	to pay (part of the total price) at the time of purchase, with the promise to pay the balance in installments: On this plan you pay only ten percent down.

b.	to pay off or back; amortize: The company's debt is being paid down rapidly.

28.	pay for, to suffer or be punished for: to pay for one's sins.

29.

pay off,

a.	to pay (someone) everything that is due that person, esp. to do so and discharge from one's employ.

b.	to pay (a debt) in full.

c.	Informal. to bribe.

d.	to retaliate upon or punish.

e.	Nautical. to fall off to leeward.

f.	to result in success or failure: The risk paid off handsomely.

30.

pay out,

a.	to distribute (money, wages, etc.); disburse.

b.	to get revenge upon for an injury; punish.

c.	to let out (a rope) by slackening.

31.

pay up,

a.	to pay fully.

b.	to pay on demand: The gangsters used threats of violence to force the shopkeepers to pay up.

—Idioms

32.

pay as you go,

a.	to pay for (goods, services, etc.) at the time of purchase, as opposed to buying on credit.

b.	to spend no more than income permits; keep out of debt.

c.	to pay income tax by regular deductions from one's salary or wages.

33.

pay back,

a.	to repay or return: to pay back a loan.

b.	to retaliate against or punish: She paid us back by refusing the invitation.

c.	to requite.

34.

pay one's or its way,

a.	to pay one's portion of shared expenses.

b.	to yield a return on one's investment sufficient to repay one's expenses: It will take time for the restaurant to begin paying its way.

Origin:
1150–1200; ME payen < OF paier < ML pācāre to satisfy, settle (a debt), L: to pacify (by force of arms). See peace

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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pay

2 [pey]

–verb (used with object), payed, pay⋅ing. Nautical.

to coat or cover (seams, a ship's bottom, etc.) with pitch, tar, or the like.

Origin:
1620–30; < MF peier, OF < L picāre to smear with pitch, deriv. of pix (s. pic-) pitch ²

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pay¹   (pā) Pronunciation Key
v.   paid (pād), pay·ing, pays

v.   tr.

To give money to in return for goods or services rendered: pay the cashier.
To give (money) in exchange for goods or services: paid four dollars for a hamburger; paid an hourly wage.
To discharge or settle (a debt or obligation): paying taxes; paid the bill.
1. To give recompense for; requite: a kindness that cannot be paid back.
2. To give recompense to; reward or punish: I'll pay him back for his insults.
To bear (a cost or penalty, for example) in recompense: She paid the price for her unpopular opinions.
To yield as a return: a savings plan that paid six percent interest.
To afford an advantage to; profit: It paid us to be generous.
To give or bestow: paying compliments; paying attention.
To make (a visit or call).
Past tense and past participle paid or payed (pād) To let out (a line or cable) by slackening.

v. intr.

To give money in exchange for goods or services.
To discharge a debt or obligation.
To bear a cost or penalty in recompense: You'll pay for this mischief!
To be profitable or worthwhile: It doesn't pay to get angry.

adj.

Of, relating to, giving, or receiving payments.
Requiring payment to use or operate: a pay toilet.
Yielding valuable metal in mining: a pay streak.

The act of paying or state of being paid.
Money given in return for work done; salary; wages.
1. Recompense or reward: Your thanks are pay enough.
2. Retribution or punishment.
Paid employment: the workers in our pay.
A person considered with regard to his or her credit or reliability in discharging debts.
To pay the full amount on (a debt).
To effect profit: a bet that paid off poorly.
To get revenge for or on; requite.
To pay the wages due to (an employee) upon discharge.
Informal To bribe.
Nautical To turn or cause to turn (a vessel) to leeward.
To give (money) out; spend.
To let out (a line or rope) by slackening.

Phrasal Verb(s):
pay off

To pay the full amount on (a debt).
To effect profit: a bet that paid off poorly.
To get revenge for or on; requite.
To pay the wages due to (an employee) upon discharge.
Informal To bribe.
Nautical To turn or cause to turn (a vessel) to leeward.

pay out

To give (money) out; spend.
To let out (a line or rope) by slackening.

pay up To give over the full monetary amount demanded.

Idiom(s):
pay (one's) dues To earn a given right or position through hard work, long-term experience, or suffering: She paid her dues in small-town theaters before being cast in a Broadway play.

Idiom(s):
pay (one's) way To contribute one's own share; pay for oneself.

Idiom(s):
pay the piper To bear the consequences of something.

Idiom(s):
pay through the nose Informal To pay excessively.

[Middle English paien, from Old French paiier, from Late Latin pācāre, to appease, from Latin, to pacify, subdue, from pāx, pāc-, peace; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: Given the unpeaceful feelings one often has in paying bills or income taxes, it is difficult to believe that the word pay ultimately derives from the Latin word pāx, "peace." However, it is not the peace of the one who pays that is involved in this development of meaning. From pāx, meaning "peace" and also "a settlement of hostilities," was derived the word pācāre, "to impose a settlement on peoples or territories." In Late Latin pācāre was extended in sense to mean "to appease." The Old French word paiier that developed from Latin pācāre came to have the specific application "to pacify or satisfy a creditor," a sense that came into Middle English along with the word paien (first recorded around the beginning of the 13th century), the ancestor of our word pay.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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pay² (pā) Pronunciation Key
tr.v. payed or paid (pād), pay·ing, pays
To coat or cover (seams of a ship, for example) with waterproof material such as tar or asphalt.

[Obsolete French peier, from Old French, from Latin picāre, from pix, pic-, pitch.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pay (v.)

c.1200, "to appease, pacify, satisfy," from O.Fr. paiier (12c.), from L. pacare "to please, pacify, satisfy" (especially a creditor), from pax (gen. pacis) "peace." Meaning "to give what is due for goods or services" arose in M.L., was attested in Eng. by c.1225; sense of "please, pacify" died out in Eng. by 1500. Sense of "suffer, endure" (a punishment, etc.) is first recorded 1387. Payday first attested 1529. Payphone first attested 1936.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pay (n.)

"money given for labor or services," c.1330, from pay (v.). Payment is first attested c.1375, from O.Fr. paiement, from paiier.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

pay
noun
1.	something that remunerates; "wages were paid by check"; "he wasted his pay on drink"; "they saved a quarter of all their earnings" [syn: wage]
verb
1.	give money, usually in exchange for goods or services; "I paid four dollars for this sandwich"; "Pay the waitress, please"
2.	convey, as of a compliment, regards, attention, etc.; bestow; "Don't pay him any mind"; "give the orders"; "Give him my best regards"; "pay attention" [syn: give]
3.	cancel or discharge a debt; "pay up, please!" [syn: pay up] [ant: default]
4.	bring in; "interest-bearing accounts"; "How much does this savings certificate pay annually?" [syn: yield]
5.	do or give something to somebody in return; "Does she pay you for the work you are doing?"
6.	dedicate; "give thought to"; "give priority to"; "pay attention to" [syn: give]
7.	be worth it; "It pays to go through the trouble"
8.	render; "pay a visit"; "pay a call"
9.	bear (a cost or penalty), in recompense for some action; "You'll pay for this!"; "She had to pay the penalty for speaking out rashly"; "You'll pay for this opinion later"
10.	make a compensation for; "a favor that cannot be paid back"
11.	discharge or settle; "pay a debt"; "pay an obligation"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

pay

In addition to the idioms beginning with pay, also see (pay the piper) call the tune; crime does not pay; devil to pay; hell to pay; lip service, pay; rob Peter to pay Paul; you get what you pay for.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Pay

Pay\, v. t. [OF. peier, fr. L. picare to pitch, i? pitch: cf. OF. peiz pitch, F. poix. See Pitch a black substance.] (Naut.) To cover, as bottom of a vessel, a seam, a spar, etc., with tar or pitch, or waterproof composition of tallow, resin, etc.; to smear.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Pay

Pay\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Paid; p. pr. & vb. n. Paying.] [OE. paien, F. payer, fr. L. pacare to pacify, appease, fr. pax, pacis, peace. See Peace.]

1. To satisfy, or content; specifically, to satisfy (another person) for service rendered, property delivered, etc.; to discharge one's obligation to; to make due return to; to compensate; to remunerate; to recompense; to requite; as, to pay workmen or servants.

May no penny ale them pay [i. e., satisfy]. --P. Plowman.

[She] pays me with disdain. --Dryden.

2. Hence, figuratively: To compensate justly; to requite according to merit; to reward; to punish; to retort or retaliate upon.

For which, or pay me quickly, or I'll pay you. --B. Jonson.

3. To discharge, as a debt, demand, or obligation, by giving or doing what is due or required; to deliver the amount or value of to the person to whom it is owing; to discharge a debt by delivering (money owed). "Pay me that thou owest." --Matt. xviii. 28.

Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. --Matt. xviii. 26.

If they pay this tax, they starve. --Tennyson.

4. To discharge or fulfill, as a duy; to perform or render duty, as that which has been promised.

This day have I paid my vows. --Prov. vii. 14.

5. To give or offer, without an implied obligation; as, to pay attention; to pay a visit.

Not paying me a welcome. --Shak.

To pay off. (a) To make compensation to and discharge; as, to pay off the crew of a ship. (b) To allow (a thread, cord, etc.) to run off; to unwind.

To pay one's duty, to render homage, as to a sovereign or other superior.

To pay out (Naut.), to pass out; hence, to slacken; to allow to run out; as, to pay out more cable. See under Cable.

To pay the piper, to bear the cost, expense, or trouble. [Colloq.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Pay

Pay\ (p[=a]), v. i. To give a recompense; to make payment, requital, or satisfaction; to discharge a debt.

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again. --Ps. xxxvii. 21.

2. Hence, to make or secure suitable return for expense or trouble; to be remunerative or profitable; to be worth the effort or pains required; as, it will pay to ride; it will pay to wait; politeness always pays.

To pay for. (a) To make amends for; to atone for; as, men often pay for their mistakes with loss of property or reputation, sometimes with life. (b) To give an equivalent for; to bear the expense of; to be mulcted on account of.

'T was I paid for your sleeps; I watched your wakings. --Beau. & Fl.

To pay off. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Naut.) To fall to leeward, as the head of a vessel under sail.

To pay on. [Etymol. uncertain.] To beat with vigor; to redouble blows. [Colloq.]

To pay round [Etymol. uncertain.] (Naut.) To turn the ship's head.

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Pay

Pay\, n. 1. Satisfaction; content. --Chaucer.

2. An equivalent or return for money due, goods purchased, or services performed; salary or wages for work or service; compensation; recompense; payment; hire; as, the pay of a clerk; the pay of a soldier.

Where only merit constant pay receives. --Pope.

There is neither pay nor plunder to be got. --L'Estrange.

Full pay, the whole amount of wages or salary; maximum pay; especially, the highest pay or allowance to civil or military officers of a certain rank, without deductions.

Half pay. See under Half.

Pay day, the day of settlement of accounts.

Pay dirt (Mining), earth which yields a profit to the miner. [Western U.S.]

Pay office, a place where payment is made.

Pay roll, a roll or list of persons entitled to payment, with the amounts due.