- 1a payment of money to somebody so that they will not cause you any trouble or to make them keep a secret synonym bribe The police are accused of receiving secret pay-offs from the drug barons. The government are investigating pay-offs to high-ranking officials.
- 2a payment of money to somebody to persuade them to leave their job The company is offering large pay-offs to anyone accepting voluntary redundancy.
- 3an advantage or a reward from something you have done
pay-off
nounBrE BrE//ˈpeɪ ɒf//; NAmE NAmE//ˈpeɪ ɔːf//, NAmE//ˈpeɪ ɑːf//
(informal)Check pronunciation: pay-off
