Meaning of pay-off | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A payment in full; the state of having been paid in full.
2. A reward.
3. A return on investment.
4. A bribe.
   informal
5. A resolution or justification of an event that has already occurred.
   colloquial, especially
6. Ellipsis of payoff pitch.
   abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

Equivalents

Examples

“At the current monthly payment level, it'll take 32 more months to reach pay-off.”

“What's the pay-off for putting up with her nonsense for ages on end?”

“How soon could we realistically expect any pay-off from loading up on shares of that company?”

“The prison break never could have succeeded if it hadn't been for multiple pay-offs to various corrupt officers.”

“Darlinghurst cops will get you/Clean and bright/Rich and white/See where pay-offs will get you”

“Where's the pay-off for that whole segment of the plot?”

“If there is a significant or surprising event in the story, it must be foreshadowed earlier on. When the event that was foreshadowed occurs, that's the payoff.”

“The bases are loaded, so he'd better make the pay-off count.”

CEFR level