pay

pay¹ W1S1 [peı] v past tense and past participle paid [peıd]

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1¦(give money)¦

2¦(bill/tax/rent)¦

3¦(wage/salary)¦

4 pay attention (to somebody/something)

5¦(legal cost)¦

6¦(say something good)¦

7¦(good result)¦

8¦(profit)¦

9 pay the penalty/price

10 pay a call/visit

11 put paid to something

12¦(be punished)¦

13 pay your way

14 pay for itself

15 the devil/hell to pay

16 pay through the nose (for something)

17 somebody has paid their debt to society

18 'pay court (to somebody)

19 he who pays the piper calls the tune

Phrasal verbs

　pay somebody/something<=>back

　pay something<=>in

　pay off

　pay out

　pay something<=>over

　pay up

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[Date: 1100-1200; : Old French; Origin: paier, from Latin pacere 'to make calm or peaceful', from pax; PEACE]

1.) ¦(GIVE MONEY)¦ [I and T]

to give someone money for something you buy or for a service

▪ How would you like to pay?

pay for

▪ Mum paid for my driving lessons.

pay (in) cash

▪ You'd get a discount for paying cash.

pay by cheque/credit card

▪ Can I pay by credit card?

pay sb for sth

▪ He didn't even offer to pay me for the ticket.

pay sb to do sth

▪ Ray paid some kids to wash the car.

pay sb sth

▪ I paid him $5 to cut the grass.

pay (sb) in dollars/euros etc

▪ He wanted to be paid in dollars.

2.) ¦(BILL/TAX/RENT)¦ [T]

to pay money that you owe to a person, company etc

▪ I forgot to pay the gas bill !

▪ You pay tax at the basic rate.

▪ Is it okay if I pay you what I owe you next week?

3.) ¦(WAGE/SALARY)¦ [I and T]

to give someone money for the job they do

▪ How much do they pay you?

pay sb $100 a day/£200 a week etc

▪ They're only paid about £4 an hour.

▪ Some lawyers get paid over $400 an hour.

be paid weekly/monthly also get paid weekly/monthly

▪ We get paid weekly on Fridays.

well/badly/poorly paid

▪ Many of the workers are very badly paid.

4.) pay attention (to sb/sth)

to watch, listen to, or think about someone or something carefully

▪ I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to what you were saying.

▪ They paid no attention to (=ignored) him.

5.) ¦(LEGAL COST)¦ [T]

to give money to someone because you are ordered to by a court as part of a legal case

▪ She had to pay a £35 fine for speeding.

pay (sth in) compensation/damages

(=give someone money because you have done something against them)

▪ The company were forced to pay £5000 in compensation .

▪ Martins was ordered to pay court costs of £1500.

6.) ¦(SAY SOMETHING GOOD)¦ [T]

to say something good or polite about or to someone

▪ The minister paid tribute to the work of the emergency services.

▪ I came by to pay my respects (=visit or send a polite greeting to someone) to Mrs Owens.

▪ I was just trying to pay her a compliment .

7.) ¦(GOOD RESULT)¦

if a particular action pays, it brings a good result or advantage for you

▪ Crime doesn't pay.

▪ It pays to get some professional advice before you make a decision.

▪ It would pay you to ask if there are any jobs going at the London office.

▪ Getting some qualifications now will pay dividends (=bring a lot of advantages) in the long term.

8.) ¦(PROFIT)¦ [I]

if a shop or business pays, it makes a profit

▪ If the pub doesn't start to pay, we'll have to sell it.

▪ The farm just manages to pay its way (=make as much profit as it costs to run) .

9.) pay the penalty/price

to experience something unpleasant because you have done something wrong, made a mistake etc

pay the penalty/price for (doing) sth

▪ Williams is now paying the price for his early mistakes.

10.) pay a call/visit

pay sb a call/visit

to visit a person or place

▪ I decided to pay my folks a visit.

pay a call/visit to

▪ If you have time, pay a visit to the City Art Gallery.

11.) put paid to sth

[i]BrE to stop something from happening or spoil plans for something

▪ Bad exam results put paid to his hopes of a university place.

12.) ¦(BE PUNISHED)¦

to suffer or be punished for something you have done wrong

▪ I'll make him pay !

pay for

▪ They paid dearly for their mistakes.

13.) pay your way

to pay for everything that you want without having to depend on anyone else for money

▪ Sofia worked to pay her way through college.

14.) pay for itself

if something you buy pays for itself, the money it saves over a period of time is as much as the product cost to buy

▪ A new boiler would pay for itself within two years.

15.) the devil/hell to pay

used to say that someone will be in a lot of trouble about something

▪ If the boss finds out you were late again, there's going to be hell to pay.

16.) pay through the nose (for sth)

[i]spoken to pay much more for something than it is really worth

17.) sb has paid their debt to society

used to say that someone who has done something illegal has been fully punished for it

18.) 'pay court (to sb)

old-fashioned to treat someone, especially a woman, carefully and with respect, so that they will like you or help you

19.) he who pays the piper calls the tune

old-fashioned used to say that the person who gives the money for something can decide how it will be used

→pay lip service to at ↑lip service

→pay your dues at ↑due² (2)

pay back [pay sb/sth<=>back] phr v

1.) to give someone the money that you owe them

= ↑repay

▪ I'll pay you back on Friday.

▪ We're paying back the loan over 15 years.

2.) to make someone suffer for doing something wrong or unpleasant

pay sb back for sth

▪ I'll pay Jenny back for what she did to me!

pay in [pay sth<=>in] phr v

to put money in your bank account etc

▪ Did you remember to pay that cheque in?

▪ I've paid $250 into my account.

pay off phr v

1.) pay sth<=>off

to give someone all the money you owe them

▪ I'll pay off all my debts first.

▪ He finally paid his overdraft off.

2.) if something you do pays off, it is successful or has a good result

▪ Teamwork paid off.

3.) pay sb<=>off

BrE to pay someone their wages and tell them they no longer have a job

▪ Two hundred workers have been paid off.

4.) pay sb<=>off

to pay someone not to say anything about something illegal or dishonest

→↑payoff

pay out phr v

1.) pay out (sth)

to pay a lot of money for something

▪ Why is it always me who has to pay out?

pay out (something) for

▪ Altogether he had paid out almost £5000 for the improvements.

2.) pay out (sth)

if a company or organization pays out, it gives someone money as a result of an insurance claim, ↑investment, competition etc

▪ Insurance companies were slow paying out on claims for flood damage.

3.) pay sth<=>out

to let a piece of rope unwind

→↑payout

pay over [pay sth<=>over] phr v

to make an official payment of money

pay something<=>over to

▪ Clancy's share of the inheritance was paid over to him.

pay up phr v

to pay money that you owe, especially when you do not want to or you are late

▪ She refused to pay up.

→↑paid-up

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GRAMMAR

The verb pay is followed directly by a noun when you are talking about paying a person : I'll pay you tomorrow. | I haven't paid my accountant yet.

Pay is also followed directly by a noun when you are talking about the amount of money you pay : I've already paid £700.

!! Do not use pay followed directly by a noun referring to the thing you are buying. Use pay (an amount of money) for something : When I paid for my tickets (NOT paid my tickets) the man told me there was no discount. |I paid £100 for this jacket.

When you are talking about whether you pay for something using a cheque, a credit card etc, use pay by : If you pay by credit card, you get free insurance.

When you are talking about the type of money you use to pay something, use pay in : You can only pay in euros.

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pay ²

pay² W2S1 n [U]

1.) money that you are given for doing your job

▪ Nurses often work long hours for low pay .

▪ The idea of equal pay for women is a recent phenomenon.

▪ Miners have traditionally enjoyed high rates of pay .

▪ a minimum rate of pay

▪ Unions are pushing for better pay and conditions .

▪ Teachers were awarded a 6% pay rise .

▪ They were asked to accept a 4% pay cut .

▪ He was suspended on full pay until the hearing.

2.) in the pay of sb

written someone who is in someone else's pay is working for them, often secretly

▪ an informer in the pay of the police

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

low pay

equal pay

rate of pay

pay and conditions

basic pay British English

base pay American English (=not includingovertime pay orbonuses )

overtime pay (=for extra hours that you work)

take-home pay (=after tax etc has been taken away)

holiday pay British English

vacation pay American English (=when you are on holiday)

sick pay (=when you are ill)

maternity pay (=when a woman is having a baby)

pay increase pay rise BrE

pay raise AmE

pay cut

on full pay (=being paid a whole salary)

WORD CHOICE:pay, salary, wages, wage, income, fee

Pay is the money that you earn by working : The pay is much better in the private sector. | people on low pay | pay negotiations

Someone's salary is the money they are paid every month by their employer, especially someone in a profession, such as a teacher or a lawyer : Some managers earn annual salaries of over £80,000.

Use wages to refer to the money that someone is paid every week by their employer, especially someone who works in a factory or a shop : Some companies pay higher wages than others.

!! Do not use wages before a noun. Use wage : wage earners

Someone's income is all the money that they receive regularly, for work or for any other reason : families on low incomes |Rent from the old farm was their only source of income.

Use fee to refer to the money paid to a lawyer, doctor, or similar qualified worker for a piece of work they have done : Your accountant's fees are too high. | legal fees

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