Definition

Noun: 1. A payment, especially one that is final or settles a debt: The act of paying a sum of money that completes an obligation. 2. A bribe or illicit payment: A sum of money given secretly and dishonestly to someone, especially to influence their actions or decisions. 3. The return or profit from an investment or venture: The financial gain or benefit received from something. 4. The outcome or result of a process or series of events: The final consequence, especially one that is significant or decisive.

Usage Examples

• As a final payment:
  • He made the last payoff on his car loan and now owns it outright.
  • The contractor received the final payoff after the project was completed.
• As a bribe:
  • The official was arrested for accepting a payoff from the construction company.
  • They offered him a cash payoff to ignore the safety violations.
• As a return or profit:
  • The financial payoff from her years of study was a high-paying job.
  • The project's payoff was much greater than the initial investment.
• As a significant result:
  • The payoff for all our hard work was a successful product launch.
  • The detective's careful investigation had a big payoff: the arrest of the criminal.

Advanced Usage

• "The payoff": Often used to refer to the most important or rewarding part of something, especially after effort or suspense.
  • The movie's plot was slow, but the payoff at the end was worth it.
• "Payoff period": In finance, the time it takes for an investment to recoup its initial cost.
  • The solar panels have a payoff period of about seven years.

Variants and Related Words

• Pay off (phrasal verb): To settle a debt in full; to yield a profit or a successful result.
  • It took ten years to pay off the mortgage.
  • His dedication finally paid off when he won the championship.

Synonyms

• Payment, settlement (for a debt).
• Bribe, kickback, backhander (for an illicit payment).
• Return, yield, profit, benefit (for a gain).
• Result, outcome, consequence, reward (for a final result).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Pay off: As noted above, this is the verb form from which the noun "payoff" is derived. It means to finish paying money owed, or to bring a good result.
  • We need to pay off our credit card debt.
  • All her training paid off in the race.

Related Idioms

• "Wait for the payoff": To anticipate the final, important result.
  • The story builds slowly, so you have to wait for the payoff in the final chapter.
• "The payoff is in the details": The success or quality of something is determined by its small, precise elements.
  • For a perfect soufflé, the payoff is in the details: the temperature of the eggs and the oven must be exact.

Noun

1. a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing
   • the wages of sin is death
   • virtue is its own reward
2. the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
   • the average return was about 5%
3. payment made to a person in a position of trust to corrupt his judgment
4. the final payment of a debt