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Pay off

verb, slang

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To bribe, especially to deter oversight. informal, transitive

    "I thought the guards would give us trouble, but apparently he had paid them off."

  2. 2
    take vengeance on or get even wordnet
  3. 3
    To become worthwhile; to produce a net benefit. intransitive

    "Her years of Spanish classes finally paid off when she found herself in Mexico and realized she could communicate with people."

  4. 4
    do or give something to somebody in return wordnet
  5. 5
    To pay back; to repay. transitive

    "He paid off the loan three months early."

Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    pay off (loans or promissory notes) wordnet
  2. 7
    To pay back (repay) the entirety of a loan, thereby effecting the release of a lien on (the thing that was financed). transitive

    "This contract requires you to pay off the car by 2025."

  3. 8
    pay someone with influence in order to receive a favor wordnet
  4. 9
    To pay and discharge (an employee). transitive

    "The cook, who had been an indifferent worker on the trip over, came aboard drunk and was immediately paid off. Amazingly, twenty men applied to fill the vacancy."

  5. 10
    yield a profit or result wordnet
  6. 11
    To fall to leeward, as the head of a vessel under sail.
  7. 12
    eliminate by paying off (debts) wordnet

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