What does "pay" mean?
Money given in return for work; salary or wages.
Pay
/peɪ/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Money given in return for work; salary or wages.
- Grammar: pay is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: ante up, pay up, remuneration, salary.
- Useful contrasts: bilking, bill total, billing.
- Usage evidence: Life begins when you pay taxes.
How to use "pay"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pay" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pay" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pay" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pay" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pay" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ante up" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "pay", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Money given in return for work; salary or wages. countable, uncountable
"Many employers have rules designed to keep employees from comparing their pays."
- 2 something that remunerates wordnet
- 3 A paying job; a paying concern. countable, rare
""You can if you like. I'll drop in each day to see how she gets on." "Oh, will you? That's a relief. All the same, I wouldn't say she was a very good pay, if you spend too much time on her." "Oh, bad pays make up half a doctor's job.""
Verb
- 1 To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or services. ambitransitive
"How much will the job pay?"
- 2 To cover (the bottom of a vessel, a seam, a spar, etc.) with tar or pitch, or a waterproof composition of tallow, resin, etc.; to smear. transitive
- 3 dedicate wordnet
- 4 To discharge, as a debt or other obligation, by giving or doing what is due or required. ambitransitive
"she offered to pay the bill"
- 5 bear (a cost or penalty), in recompense for some action wordnet
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 To be profitable for. transitive
"It didn't pay him to keep the store open any more."
- 7 convey, as of a compliment, regards, attention, etc.; bestow wordnet
- 8 To yield as a benefit. transitive
"to pay dividends or interest"
- 9 give money, usually in exchange for goods or services wordnet
- 10 To give (something else than money). transitive
"to pay attention"
- 11 cancel or discharge a debt wordnet
- 12 To be profitable or worth the effort. intransitive
"crime doesn’t pay"
- 13 discharge or settle wordnet
- 14 To discharge an obligation or debt. intransitive
"He was allowed to go as soon as he paid."
- 15 do or give something to somebody in return wordnet
- 16 To suffer consequences. intransitive
"He paid for his fun in the sun with a terrible sunburn."
- 17 bring in wordnet
- 18 To admit that a joke, punchline, etc., was funny. transitive
"Sutho took a pull at his Johnny Walker and Coke and laughed that trademark laugh of his and said: `Okay. I'll pay that all right.'"
- 19 make a compensation for wordnet
- 20 render wordnet
- 21 be worth it wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Operable or accessible on deposit of coins. not-comparable
"pay toilet"
- 2 Pertaining to or requiring payment. not-comparable
"pay television"
Proper Noun
- 1 A diminutive of the unisex given name Payton. countable, uncountable
- 2 A surname. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Life begins when you pay taxes."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pay"?
Common synonyms include: ante up, pay up, remuneration, salary, wage, accomplish.
How do you use "pay" in a sentence?
Life begins when you pay taxes.
How do you pronounce "pay"?
Pronounced /peɪ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English payen, from Old French paiier (“pay”), from Medieval Latin pācāre (“to settle, satisfy”) from Latin pācāre (“to pacify”). In this sense, displaced native Old English ġield (“pay”) and ġieldan (“to pay”), whence Modern English yield.
Etymology 2
From Old French peier, from Latin picāre (“to cover with pitch”).