2 pay
Function:
nounMeaning:
[noncount] : money received in exchange for work : money paid to someone for doing work ▪ receiving higher/better/lower pay ▪ The work is hard, but the pay is good. [=you earn a lot of money by doing the work] ▪ She spent a week's pay [=the amount of money she earns in one week] in just one night. ▪ He has been suspended without pay pending the results of the investigation. ▪ “Women,” she said, “should receive equal pay for equal work.” [=they should be paid the same amount of money as men who perform the same job] ▪ When he works on the weekends, he collects overtime pay. [=an increased rate of money earned for working more than the usual number of hours in one week] ▪ The company owes her $500 in back pay. [=money that is owed to a worker from an earlier time] ▪ severance pay [=money given to workers when a company ends their jobs] ▪ The workers are demanding an increase in their rate of pay. = The workers are demanding an increase in their pay rate. [=the amount of money they are paid per hour, week, etc.] ▪ Each pay period begins on the first of the month. ▪ (US) He asked for a pay raise = (Brit) He asked for a pay rise. ▪ Workers received a $4,000 pay increase. ▪ I took a significant pay cut when I took this job, but I think it was worth it. —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 ▪ He was accused of being in the pay of gangsters.