/pay"awf', -of'/ , n.
1. the payment of a salary, debt, wager, etc.
2. the time at which such payment is made.
3. the consequence, outcome, or final sequence in a series of events, actions, or circumstances: The payoff was when they fired him.
4. Informal. the climax of something, esp. a story or joke.
5. a settlement or reckoning, as in retribution or reward.
6. Informal. a bribe.
adj.
7. yielding results, esp. rewarding or decisive results: The payoff play was the long pass into the end zone.
[ 1910-15; n., adj. use of v. phrase pay off ]
Syn. 3. climax, upshot, finale.