pay
verb/peɪ/
/peɪ/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they pay | /peɪ/ /peɪ/ |
| he / she / it pays | /peɪz/ /peɪz/ |
| past simple paid | /peɪd/ /peɪd/ |
| past participle paid | /peɪd/ /peɪd/ |
| -ing form paying | /ˈpeɪɪŋ/ /ˈpeɪɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to give somebody money for work, goods, services, etc.
- Who's paying?
- pay for something I'll pay for the tickets.
- You have to pay extra for a single room.
- Many consumers are willing to pay more for better service.
- pay somebody for something Let me pay you for your time.
- pay for somebody to do something Her parents paid for her to go to Canada.
- pay somebody Would you mind paying the taxi driver?
- pay somebody something She's paid $200 a day.
- pay something Let me pay the bill.
- pay by something Are you paying by card?
- pay (in) something to pay (in) cash
- pay something for something She pays £200 a week for this apartment.
- pay somebody/something to do something I don't pay you to sit around all day doing nothing!
- pay somebody something to do something I pay him £10 to clean the car.
Extra ExamplesTopics Moneya1, Shoppinga1- How much did you pay for your new car?
- I would gladly pay for the benefits such a tax would bring.
- The revenue will be used to help pay for environmental improvements.
- Protesters against the tax carried banners reading ‘Can't pay! Won't pay!’
- You can expect to pay upwards of £200 a night at this exclusive hotel.
- There's a 5% discount if you pay cash.
- She pays her workers very well.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- handsomely
- well
- dearly
- …
- have to
- must
- be able to
- …
- for
- to
- ability to pay
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- [transitive] to give somebody money that you owe them
- pay something to pay a fee/bill/fine/debt
- to pay your rent
- Everyone has to pay their taxes.
- The union paid all her legal costs.
- pay something to somebody Membership fees should be paid to the secretary.
- pay somebody something He still hasn't paid me the money he owes me.
Extra ExamplesTopics Moneya1- He was made bankrupt for failing to pay debts of over £2 million.
- The company was ordered to pay the five workers £5 000 in compensation each.
- It is for the courts to decide who is liable to pay damages.
- We pay £300 a week to our landlord.
- Have you paid him the rent yet?
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- handsomely
- well
- dearly
- …
- have to
- must
- be able to
- …
- for
- to
- ability to pay
- [intransitive, transitive] (of an employer or a job) to give or provide a particular amount of money for the work that somebody does
- Software firms generally pay well (= pay high salaries).
- jobs that pay less than £10 an hour
- I need to get a job that pays better.
- [transitive] used with some nouns to show that you are giving or doing the thing mentioned
- pay something Most of the students weren't paying attention.
- pay something to something/somebody The director paid tribute to all she had done for the charity.
- He paid a visit to Japan last year.
- The film pays homage to classic Hollywood musicals.
- pay somebody something I'll pay you a visit when I'm next in town.
- He's always paying me compliments.
Extra Examples- I paid a call on my friends.
- When a friend tracks him down and pays him a call, Henry gives him a drubbing.
- I didn't pay attention to what she was saying.
- [intransitive, transitive] to produce a profit; to result in some advantage for somebody
- It's hard to make farming pay.
- Crime doesn't pay.
- it pays to do something It pays to keep up to date with your work.
- it pays somebody to do something It would probably pay you to hire an accountant.
Extra ExamplesTopics Moneyb2- Sometimes, the film tells us, crime does pay.
- Doing business with the United States pays, and pays very well.
- Learning pays in all sorts of ways—it can be the first step to a job or better job and to making new friends.
- [intransitive] to suffer or be punished for your beliefs or actions
- pay for something You'll pay for that remark!
- He will pay dearly for what he did.
- pay with something Many people paid with their lives (= they died).
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘pacify’): from Old French paie (noun), payer (verb), from Latin pacare ‘appease’, from pax, pac- ‘peace’. The notion of ‘payment’ arose from the sense of ‘pacifying’ a creditor.
Idioms
See pay in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee pay in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishcost/pay an arm and a leg
- (informal) to cost/pay a lot of money
the devil/hell to pay
- (informal) a lot of trouble
- There'll be hell to pay when he finds out.
give/pay heed (to somebody/something) | take heed (of somebody/something)
- (formal) to pay careful attention to somebody/something
- They gave little heed to the rumours.
- I paid no heed at the time but later I had cause to remember what he’d said.
- Small businesses would be wise to take heed of the warnings contained in the Chancellor’s speech.
- She took little heed of her surroundings.
- They paid no heed to the advice.
he who pays the piper calls the tune
- (saying) the person who provides the money for something can also control how it is spent
not pay somebody/something any mind
- (North American English) to give no attention to somebody/something
- People call him names sometimes, but he doesn't pay them any mind.
pay court to somebody
- (old-fashioned) to treat somebody with great respect in order to gain favour with them
pay your dues
- to work hard and gain experience, so that you deserve success or respect
- As a young actor, he paid his dues in small roles.
- She is incredibly qualified and has paid her dues to become president.
- to do what is required or expected of you
- Vick paid his dues (= completed his punishment), and since being released from prison has been a model citizen.
pay for itself
- (of a new system, something you have bought, etc.) to save as much money as it cost
- The rail pass will pay for itself after about two trips.
pay good money for something
- used to emphasize that something cost(s) a lot of money, especially if the money is wasted
- I paid good money for this jacket, and now look at it—it's ruined!
pay the/a penalty/price (for something/for doing something)
- to suffer because of bad luck, a mistake or something you have done
- He looked terrible this morning. I think he's paying the penalty for all those late nights.
- They're now paying the price for past mistakes.
- She thinks that any inconvenience is a price worth paying for living in such a beautiful place.
Extra Examples- He's now paying the penalty for his misspent youth.
- If Mac had killed Caroline, then he was going to make him pay the price.
pay your respects (to somebody)
- (formal) to visit somebody or to send a message of good wishes as a sign of respect for them
- Many came to pay their last respects (= by attending somebody's funeral).
pay through the nose (for something)
- (informal) to pay too much money for something
pay its way
- (of a business, etc.) to make enough money to pay what it costs to keep it going
- The bridge is still not paying its way.
pay your way
- to pay for everything yourself without having to rely on anyone else’s money
rob Peter to pay Paul
- (saying) to borrow money from one person to pay back what you owe to another person; to take money from one thing to use for something else
you pays your money and you takes your choice
- (informal, especially British English) used for saying that there is very little difference between two or more things that you can choose
Check pronunciation:
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