Library / English Dictionary

PAY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: paid   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Something that remunerates

Example:

they saved a quarter of all their earnings

Synonyms:

earnings; pay; remuneration; salary; wage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("pay" is a kind of...):

regular payment (a payment made at regular times)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pay"):

combat pay (extra pay for soldiers engaged in active combat)

double time (a doubled wage (for working overtime))

found (food and lodging provided in addition to money)

half-pay (reduced wage paid to someone who is not working full time)

living wage (a wage sufficient for a worker and family to subsist comfortably)

merit pay (extra pay awarded to an employee on the basis of merit (especially to school teachers))

minimum wage (the lowest wage that an employer is allowed to pay; determined by contract or by law)

pay envelope; pay packet (wages enclosed in an envelope for distribution to the wage earner)

sick pay (wages paid to an employee who is on sick leave)

strike pay (money paid to strikers from union funds)

take-home pay (what is left of your pay after deductions for taxes and dues and insurance etc)

Holonyms ("pay" is a part of...):

payroll; paysheet (a list of employees and their salaries)

Derivation:

pay (give money, usually in exchange for goods or services)

pay (cancel or discharge a debt)

pay (do or give something to somebody in return)

pay (bring in)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Dedicate

Example:

pay attention to

Synonyms:

devote; give; pay

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

cerebrate; cogitate; think (use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments)

Verb group:

give; sacrifice (endure the loss of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bear (a cost or penalty), in recompense for some action

Example:

You'll pay for this opinion later

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

abide; bear; brook; digest; endure; put up; stand; stick out; stomach; suffer; support; tolerate (put up with something or somebody unpleasant)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pay"):

get one's lumps; take one's lumps (suffer the results or consequences of one's behavior or actions)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

payer (a person who pays money for something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Convey, as of a compliment, regards, attention, etc.; bestow

Example:

pay attention

Synonyms:

give; pay

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

communicate; intercommunicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pay"):

extend; offer (offer verbally)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Sense 4

Meaning:

Give money, usually in exchange for goods or services

Example:

Pay the waitress, please

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

give (transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pay"):

prefer (give preference to one creditor over another)

kick back (pay a kickback; make an illegal payment)

defray (bear the expenses of)

pay cash (pay (for something) with cash)

charge (pay with a credit card; pay with plastic money; postpone payment by recording a purchase as a debt)

disburse; pay out (expend, as from a fund)

foot; pick (pay for something)

give back; refund; repay; return (pay back)

bribe; buy; corrupt; grease one's palms (make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence)

drop; expend; spend (pay out)

pay off; redeem (pay off (loans or promissory notes))

remit (send (money) in payment)

tithe (pay a tenth of one's income, especially to the church)

compensate; indemnify; recompense; repair (make amends for; pay compensation for)

go Dutch (share expenses equally and split the cost of something)

prepay (pay for something before receiving it)

underpay (pay too little)

overpay (pay too much)

compensate; recompense; remunerate (make payment to; compensate)

contribute; put up (provide)

finance (obtain or provide money for)

subsidise; subsidize (secure the assistance of by granting a subsidy, as of nations or military forces)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s somebody with something

Sentence example:

They pay him to write the letter

Also:

fund (furnish money for)

pay off (pay off (loans or promissory notes))

pay off (pay someone with influence in order to receive a favor)

pay off (eliminate by paying off (debts))

pay out (expend, as from a fund)

Derivation:

payment (a sum of money paid or a claim discharged)

payment (the act of paying money)

payer (a person who pays money for something)

payee (a person to whom money is paid)

pay (something that remunerates)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Cancel or discharge a debt

Example:

pay up, please!

Synonyms:

ante up; pay; pay up

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

pay (discharge or settle)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pay"):

liquidate; pay off (eliminate by paying off (debts))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They pay

Derivation:

pay (something that remunerates)

payment (the act of paying money)

payment (a sum of money paid or a claim discharged)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Discharge or settle

Example:

pay an obligation

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

settle (dispose of; make a financial settlement)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pay"):

ante up; pay; pay up (cancel or discharge a debt)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

payer (a person who pays money for something)

payment (the act of paying money)

payment (a sum of money paid or a claim discharged)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Do or give something to somebody in return

Example:

Does she pay you for the work you are doing?

Synonyms:

compensate; make up; pay; pay off

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

settle (dispose of; make a financial settlement)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sentence example:

They pay to move

Also:

pay back; pay off (take vengeance on or get even)

Derivation:

pay (something that remunerates)

payee (a person to whom money is paid)

payer (a person who pays money for something)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Bring in

Example:

How much does this savings certificate pay annually?

Synonyms:

bear; pay; yield

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

bring in; clear; earn; gain; make; pull in; realise; realize; take in (earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages)

Domain category:

investment; investment funds (money that is invested with an expectation of profit)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pay"):

clear; net (yield as a net profit)

pay off (yield a profit or result)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

pay (something that remunerates)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Make a compensation for

Example:

a favor that cannot be paid back

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

repay; requite (make repayment for or return something)

Verb group:

fix; get; pay back; pay off (take vengeance on or get even)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 10

Meaning:

Render

Example:

pay a call

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

make (perform or carry out)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s on something
Somebody ----s somebody something

Sentence example:

They pay the money

Sense 11

Meaning:

Be worth it

Example:

It pays to go through the trouble

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "pay" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frame:

It ----s that CLAUSE

Credits

 Context examples: 

The death of Sir Danvers was, to his way of thinking, more than paid for by the disappearance of Mr. Hyde.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

They little think how much it comes to, or what their parents, or their uncles and aunts, pay for them in the course of the year.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

“But he hasn't paid his score. Harry, run and catch him.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

This year, you may receive a large tax refund in one sum that you can save or use to pay down debt.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The sail flapped and fluttered, and the boat paid off.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Until now, little attention has been paid to African rainforests, where ground measurements are even sparser than in the Amazon and where droughts are less severe but last longer.

(NASA finds drought may take toll on Congo rainforest, NASA)

The research also highlighted the ways in which underweight people pay greater attention to natural foods and overweight people to processed foods.

(Our Weight Tells How We Assess Food, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Then he did not stay to think about the matter, but paid what was asked, and his brothers were given up, and went on with him towards their home.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

The researchers would indicate with a cue to the monkey which side they should pay attention to.

(Researchers discover neural code that predicts behavior, National Institutes of Health)

And they should also pay attention to their overall diet, filled with lots of vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

(Eating Yogurt May Lower Risk of Colon Cancer in Men, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)