verb / noun / adjective
pay
PAY/peɪ/
To give money to settle an amount owed.
The customer pays the vendor in coins for a bag of apples.
Etymology
Latin pacare literally meant “make peaceful.” Its sense narrowed from satisfying or appeasing someone to satisfying a creditor, giving pay its meaning of handing over what is owed.
In context
when you get out of college you can't even make that money to pay your debt. So we're supposed to pay that debt.
More examples
- Her weekly pay covers rent and groceries.
- It pays to compare prices before buying.
- He pays for his mistakes with extra work.
- We leave the car in a pay parking lot.
Forms
Similar words
- repay
- Repay means returning money borrowed or reimbursing someone.
- settle
- Settle emphasizes clearing a debt or an outstanding balance.
- compensate
- Compensate means paying someone for work, loss, or injury.