pay
verb · noun · adjective
Simple meaning
To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or services.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
payIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpeɪ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
ambitransitive
Cancel or discharge a debt
ambitransitive
To discharge, as a debt or other obligation, by giving or doing what is due or required.
ambitransitive
To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or services.
transitive
To give (something else than money).
ambitransitive
Discharge or settle
ambitransitive
Make a compensation for
noun
Money given in return for work; salary or wages.
A diminutive of the unisex given name Payton.
adjective
Pertaining to or requiring payment.
Operable or accessible on deposit of coins.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (ambitransitive) To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or services.
Used this way, pay is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use pay
- “Does she pay you for the work you are doing?”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.