pay 1 of 2

1
as in to compensate
to give (someone) the sum of money owed for goods or services received we need to pay the cashier and then we can leave

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in to meet
to give what is owed for you ought to pay that bill before it's overdue

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
4
as in to yield
to produce as revenue an investment paying six percent

Synonyms & Similar Words

5

pay

2 of 2

noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word pay distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of pay are compensate, indemnify, recompense, reimburse, remunerate, repay, and satisfy. While all these words mean "to give money or its equivalent in return for something," pay implies the discharge of an obligation incurred.

paid their bills

When might compensate be a better fit than pay?

The words compensate and pay are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, compensate implies a making up for services rendered.

an attorney well compensated for her services

When can indemnify be used instead of pay?

Although the words indemnify and pay have much in common, indemnify implies making good a loss suffered through accident, disaster, warfare.

indemnified the families of the dead miners

When would recompense be a good substitute for pay?

The meanings of recompense and pay largely overlap; however, recompense suggests due return in amends, friendly repayment, or reward.

passengers were recompensed for the delay

When could reimburse be used to replace pay?

The synonyms reimburse and pay are sometimes interchangeable, but reimburse implies a return of money that has been spent for another's benefit.

reimbursed employees for expenses

Where would remunerate be a reasonable alternative to pay?

In some situations, the words remunerate and pay are roughly equivalent. However, remunerate clearly suggests paying for services rendered and may extend to payment that is generous or not contracted for.

promised to remunerate the searchers handsomely

When is it sensible to use repay instead of pay?

While in some cases nearly identical to pay, repay stresses paying back an equivalent in kind or amount.

repay a favor with a favor

When is satisfy a more appropriate choice than pay?

While the synonyms satisfy and pay are close in meaning, satisfy implies paying a person what is required by law.

all creditors will be satisfied in full

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pay
Verb
Pope Francis' tomb opens to visitors at Rome's St. Mary Major Basilica The tomb of Pope Francis was opened to visitors at St. Mary Major Basilica, where Catholic faithful lined up to pay their respects a day after world leaders and hundreds of thousands attended the late pontiff's funeral. Danielle Wallace, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2025 In 2020, the Trump administration paid to restore a Columbus statue in Baltimore that was dumped in the harbor during protests against the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. CBS News, 27 Apr. 2025
Noun
More than a dozen former workers verified details about their own pay shown in the spreadsheet. Rob Davis, ProPublica, 25 Apr. 2025 And, post pandemic, large systems such as Kaiser Permanente, UC San Diego Health, Scripps Health and Sharp HealthCare have all increased pay significantly, competing for a smaller pool of nurses and other medical personnel after many left the profession due to burnout. Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pay
Verb
  • If your core isn’t doing its job, other muscles have to try and compensate.
    Danielle Zickl, SELF, 24 Apr. 2025
  • There have been long periods of suffering experienced by some that all the gold of the country could not compensate for.
    Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Randy Haight – at the time a young patrol officer who was at the crime scene — met his partner at the hospital.
    Erin Moriarty, Liza Finley, CBS News, 4 May 2025
  • Trump and Zelensky briefly met at Pope Francis’s funeral last week.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 3 May 2025
Verb
  • And four years later, their collection of groups spent $42 million to unsuccessfully keep Trump from becoming the nominee for a third time.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 2 May 2025
  • Trump, Biden allies divided over GDP report One crisis away from homelessness While discretionary spending is somewhat determined by priorities, income is the key factor when calculating what and where to spend.
    Rachel Barber, USA Today, 2 May 2025
Verb
  • As a collective, HQ Portfolio stocks have yielded superior returns with less risk in comparison to the benchmark index; resulting in a less turbulent experience, as evidenced in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Health plans improved on the other three measures, but not enough to avoid penalties, which yielded $15 million.
    Bernard J. Wolfson, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • As Kiew has observed, there has also been a shift in hiring priorities.
    William Jones, USA Today, 3 May 2025
  • At the same time, former Universal Pictures Distribution and Marketing EVP John C. Hall has been hired as Head of Distribution & Cinema Partnerships.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 1 May 2025
Noun
  • The good news for the Kings is that his next contract comes at a time when the salary cap rises from $95.5 million to $113.5 million over the next three seasons.
    Eric Stephens, New York Times, 3 May 2025
  • But Morris’ fortunes had seemingly improved by 2019, when he was hired as CSUN’s director of equity and compliance with a $150,000 salary, according to school records reviewed by The Times.
    Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2025
Noun
  • Apple in 2020 had pulled Epic's account after the company let iPhone users navigate outside Apple's ecosystem for better payment deals.
    Mike Scarcella, USA Today, 2 May 2025
  • In 2021, the judge said Apple’s App Store policies didn’t violate federal antitrust law, but still required the company to allow developers to avoid its in-app payment tool and its up-to-30% commission.
    BYAndrew Nusca, Fortune, 1 May 2025
Verb
  • The quickest, but hardest, is to repay the loans in full.
    Rachel Treisman, NPR, 23 Apr. 2025
  • The rest of the £637m refinancing was a £112m loan from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA), of which £50m has since been repaid.
    Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pay. Accessed 8 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on pay

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!