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pay

1 pay /ˈpeɪ/ verb
pays; paid /ˈpeɪd/ ; paying
1 pay
/ˈpeɪ/
verb
pays; paid /ˈpeɪd/ ; paying
Britannica Dictionary definition of PAY
[no object] : to give money for goods or services
often + for
[+ object] : to give money to (someone) for goods or services
often followed by to + verb
sometimes + in
[+ object] : to give (something, such as an amount of money) for goods or services
used to say how much someone earns for doing a job
[no object]
[+ object]
[+ object] : to give the money that you owe for (something)
: to have a good or helpful result : to be worth the expense or effort to do something
[no object]
often followed by to + verb
[+ object]
[+ object] : to give (a percentage of money) as the profit from an investment or business
[no object] : to deal with the bad result of something that you did : to be punished for doing something often + for
[+ object] : to give, lose, or suffer (something) as a punishment for or result of something else
◊ If you pay a/the price or pay a heavy/high/steep (etc.) price or (Brit) pay the penalty for something, you experience the bad effects or results of that thing.
[+ object] used in various phrases that describe giving your attention to what is being done or said
[+ object] used to describe saying or doing something that expresses respect, admiration, etc., for someone

hell to pay

or the devil to pay
used to say that if a specific thing happens, something else that is very bad will be the result or someone will get very upset

pay a call/visit

: to go somewhere to visit someone

pay back

[phrasal verb]
pay back (something) or pay (something) back : to return (an amount of money) that someone allowed you to borrow
pay (someone) back or pay back (someone)
: to give (someone) the amount of money that you borrowed
: to punish or hurt (someone who did something bad to you)
see also payback
: to do something good for (someone who did something good for you)

pay court to

see 1court

pay for itself

◊ If you buy something that pays for itself, the amount of money you save by using the product for a period of time is more than the amount of money you spent when you bought the product.

pay in

[phrasal verb]
pay in (something) or pay (something) in British
: to put (money) in an account : deposit

pay into

[phrasal verb]
pay into (something) chiefly US
: to put money into (a fund or account)

pay off

[phrasal verb]
: to produce a result that you want
pay off (something) or pay (something) off : to give all of the money that you owe for (something that you pay for over a period of time)
pay off (someone) or pay (someone) off
: to give money to (someone) in order to make that person do something illegal or dishonest for you or to convince that person not to talk about something
British : to stop employing (someone) after paying all of the money that was owed to that person
see also payoff

pay out

[phrasal verb]
pay out (something) or pay (something) out
: to give (an amount of money) to someone usually over a period of time
see also payout
: to allow (a rope or chain) to become loose and move through your hands

pay the piper

see piper

pay through the nose

see 1nose

pay up

[phrasal verb] somewhat informal
: to pay what you owe : to pay what is due
◊ If you are paid up, you have given all of the money that you owe until a specific date.

pay your dues

see 2due

pay your (own) way

: to use your own money to pay for the things you need or do

pay your respects

formal
: to visit or speak with someone in a polite way as a sign of respect

put paid to

British, informal
: to cause (something) to end : to stop (something)
see also 2paid
2 pay /ˈpeɪ/ noun
2 pay
/ˈpeɪ/
noun
Britannica Dictionary definition of PAY
[noncount]
: money received in exchange for work : money paid to someone for doing work
see also base pay, co-pay, sick pay, take-home pay

in the pay of someone

: working usually in a secret way for a person or organization