Meaning of pay out | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To distribute money; to disburse.
2. To slacken a rope by lengthening it; to allow a rope to run out.
   transitive
3. To slacken by lengthening.
   intransitive
4. To repay, take revenge.
5. To make fun of or insult, often in a teasing manner.
   Australia, informal, transitive

Equivalents

Examples

“Since 2016, the bank has reviewed 165 million accounts, contacted more than 40 million customers and payed out millions in compensation, Sloan said in his opening statement submitted to the House Financial Services Committee on Monday.”

“If a fisherman gets his foot ensnared in a rope that is rapidly paying out, he will be dragged over and drowned almost before anyone realizes he is overboard.”

“The pigeon, very offended, flew back to the Bird Woman and, to pay out Mary Poppins, stuck the rose in the ribbon of the Bird Woman's hat.”

“Last weekend, Robin accidentally tried to interview someone after having one too many wines and of course, we paid her out for it.”

“My wife and the other boys pay me out because the bike would just sit in the shed, but that’s where I spend most of my time.”

“Vautin said he and his wife Kim had first met Delyse at a State of Origin camp in 1985 when, just a slip of a girl, she had paid him out for missing six tackles in an earlier game.”

CEFR level