I. ˈpā verb
( paid also in sense 8 payed ˈpād ; paid ; paying ; pays )
Etymology: Middle English payen, from Old French paier, from Latin pacare to pacify, from pac-, pax peace — more at peace
transitive verb
1. obsolete : pacify , appease , gratify
2.
a. : to satisfy (someone) for services rendered or property delivered : discharge an obligation to : make due return to
factory hands are paid by the hour
paid all his creditors
b. : to engage for money : hire
you couldn't pay me to do that
have to pay someone to mow the lawn
3.
a. : to give in return for goods or service
pay high wages
paid a stiff price for the house
pay interest on borrowed money
b. : to discharge indebtedness for : settle
pay a bill
pay a tax
pay a debt
pay a bet
pay rent for the house
c. : to assume the charge of
pay expenses
paid his son's tuition
pay the freight
d. : to make any agreed disposal or transfer of (money)
paid a few dollars weekly into his savings account
counting all the contributions actually paid in to date
obliged to pay out his entire wages every Saturday
paid over a large sum to the lawyer
4. : to give or forfeit in expiation or retribution
if he has broken the law he must pay the penalty
permanent injury is a high price to pay for a moment's carelessness
5.
a. : to make compensation for : make up for : recompense
his trouble was well paid in the end
b. : to make retaliation for — usually used with back
paid him back blow for blow
c. : to requite (someone) according to what is deserved : get even with — usually used with back
pay back a social obligation
how can I pay you back for all your kindness
cheated me but I'll find some way to pay him back
d. archaic : thrash , punish
6. : to give, offer, or make freely or as fitting
pay attention to business
paid no heed to repeated warnings
pay a visit to the capital
paying lip service to democratic ideals
has come to pay his respects to you
7.
a. : to return value or profit to
it paid the store to stay open evenings
b. : to bring in as a return
the investment paid five percent
8. : to slacken (as a rope) and allow to run out
wires are paid out and their eyes are slipped over the ship's bitts — N.D.Ford & W.J.Redgrave
payed out the line to lower him to the ledge
intransitive verb
1. : to give a recompense : make payment : discharge a debt or obligation
owing doesn't mean paying, as any butcher or baker or candlestick maker can tell you — Margaret Deland
2. : to make suitable return for expense or trouble : be worth the effort or pains : be profitable
it pays to be careful
his job pays very little
justly emphatic against the delusion that persecution never pays — G.G.Coulton
3. : to be amiss or afoot — used chiefly in what's to pay, something is to pay
Synonyms:
compensate , remunerate , satisfy , reimburse , indemnify , recompense , repay : pay is a general term, usually lacking particular connotation but sometimes bluntly stressing the purchase of services
pay a machinist high wages
pay a person to whom one has lost a bet
In situations involving retaliation or retribution it may connote the bitter or dire
didn't want anything except an opportunity to make somebody pay for the injustices, the inhumanities that my father had suffered — Kenneth Roberts
compensate may indicate the giving of some return felt to be roughly equivalent in value to a service or favor; the extending of some balancing or countering consideration
compensate one for his additional trouble
an epoch in which the immense costs of a war could never be compensated by any economic gains that came from it — Max Lerner
the loss will be far more than compensated by the growing tourist business — American Guide Series: Nevada
remunerate , generally more formal than pay , is applicable to rewards generous, not contracted for, or unexpected
the king remunerated his retainers with large grants
satisfy implies payment asked, required, stipulated
the Swedish government bought the shares of the Dutch investors in the New Sweden Company and satisfied all Dutch claims — American Guide Series: Delaware
reimburse applies to the return of an exact equivalent for an expenditure
county charges are admitted, the state reimbursing the county in the amount of 75¢ a day for each person; patients financially able to pay are charged $3 a day — American Guide Series: Michigan
indemnify applies to compensations for loss, damage, or injury
the insurance company indemnified him for his losses
recompense suggests fit return, either in compensation, amends, friendly or loyal repayment, or reward
recompensed for unusual services
from this heritage her writing derives a graciousness and urbanity that recompense one, to a degree, for the essential superficiality of her observation and insight — F.B.Millett
repay always implies the notion of a return, a paying back, answering, countering, or reprisal
every last one of them eager to repay with interest a few of the things that had been done to them — Kenneth Roberts
the doctor is repaid all he wants simply by the interest of your case — Graham Greene
the region would repay investigation — Douglas Carruthers
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- pay as you go
- pay for
- pay home
- pay one's way
- pay the piper
- pay the shot
- pay through the nose
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English pay, paye, from Middle French paie, from paier to pay
1. obsolete : satisfaction , liking
2.
a. : the act or fact of paying or being paid
no pay , no work
demanded pay for overtime work
long interval between pays … to prevent frequent drunkenness among the men — Times Literary Supplement
b. : the status of being paid by an employer : employ
time when England had not a single battalion in constant pay — T.B.Macaulay
suspected of being in the pay of a foreign power
3. archaic : something given in return by way of reward or retaliation
when her lips were ready for his pay — Shakespeare
4.
a. : wages , salary , remuneration
equal pay for equal work
stayed just long enough to collect his pay
especially : money regularly allotted to a member of the armed forces
b. : money paid in addition to basic wages or salary
travel pay
flying pay
severance pay
5. : a person viewed as to reliability or promptitude in paying debts or bills
business people say the best pay are Japanese, Filipinos, and Chinese — Joseph Driscoll
6.
a. : earth, rock, or sand that yields metal (especially gold) in profitable amounts
b. : a zone or stratum (as of sand) that yields oil
Synonyms: see wage
III. adjective
1. : containing or leading to something precious or valuable (as gold, oil)
pay ore
pay rock
2. : equipped with a coin slot for receiving a fee for use
pay telephone
pay toilet
3. : concerned with or used for payment
pay clerk
pay office
4. : requiring payment
pay hospital
pay TV
IV. transitive verb
( payed also paid ; payed also paid ; paying ; pays )
Etymology: obsolete French peier, from Old French, from Latin picare, from pic-, pix pitch — more at pitch
: to smear or coat (as a spar, caulked seam) with hot tar or pitch or any waterproof composition
V. verb
also pay dues
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- pay one's dues