I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
( -s )
Etymology: from pay off, v.
1. : the act or occasion of paying employees' wages or gambling winnings or distributing profits, booty, or bribe money
2.
a. : profit , reward
b. : retribution
3. : the climax of an incident or enterprise ; specifically : the denouement of a narrative
now listen to the payoff
4. : a decisive fact or factor resolving a situation or bringing about a definitive conclusion
the opinion of the tax court on taxability is the payoff
II. adjective
: yielding results in the final test : rewarding , decisive
gave him the payoff shot — Chester Roth
maneuvering for a payoff play
wound up for the payoff pitch