pay off meaning and examples

Meaning

The phrasal verb “pay off” has several common meanings:

1. To finish paying back a debt → to return all borrowed money. Example: She finally paid off her student loan.

2. To bring good results / be worth the effort → to succeed after hard work. Example: His months of practice paid off when he won the competition.

3. To dismiss workers by paying them what is owed → often used in business/employment context. Example: The company paid off 50 workers during the crisis.

4. (informal) To bribe someone to get an advantage. Example: They tried to pay off the guard to get in.

Grammar and Usage

• Verb type: Transitive (needs an object) or intransitive depending on meaning.

• Structures:

  • pay off + noun → pay off a loan, pay off the debt
  • something pays off → The effort paid off
  • pay sb off → The company paid him off with three months’ salary

Common Phrases

• pay off a loan
• pay off a mortgage
• hard work pays off
• efforts pay off
• pay someone off

Collocations

• Loan/Mortgage/Debt + pay off
• Effort/Hard work/Investment + pay off
• Company/Employer + pay off + employees

Examples

1. She managed to pay off her credit card debt in six months.
2. All his late nights studying finally paid off when he passed the exam.
3. The factory had to pay off dozens of workers due to financial problems.
4. It will take them years to pay off the mortgage on their new house.
5. His patience and persistence eventually paid off.
6. The businessman tried to pay off the officials, but they refused.
7. Regular training always pays off in the long run.

Synonyms or Related

• settle (a debt)
• clear (a loan)
• reward
• bear fruit

Antonym

• fall through (not succeed)
• default on (a debt – not pay it back)