pay

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpeɪ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/peɪ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pā)

Inflections of 'pay' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
pays
v 3rd person singular
paying
v pres p
paid
v past (All usages)
payed
v past (Now only for nautical and slackening a rope senses)
paid
v past p
payed
v past p (Now only for nautical and slackening a rope senses)

Collocations for "pay"


Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "pay" in context.

WordReference English Collocations © 2025

pay

ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.
v
  1. pay for your [purchase, order]
  2. pay by [credit, check, phone]
  3. pay [at the register, up front]
  4. pay [in advance, up front, later]
  5. pay on [time, delivery]
  6. pay per [visit, minute]
  7. pay up (or else)
  8. paid [$50, a fortune]
  9. paid [$50] [to, for]
  10. pay to [have, get, see, use]
  11. pay the [bills, price, fee]
  12. pay the [gas, electricity, water] bill
  13. paid a premium for
  14. [will, would, could] pay anything (for)
  15. pay [tax on, your taxes]
  16. (has) paid her dues
  17. the [stocks, shares, dividends] paid [5%]
  18. pay off the [bills, interest, remainder]
  19. pay off the [judge, governor]
  20. pay back [your debts, what I owe]
  21. pay back your [friend, parents]
  22. (will) pay you back
  23. paid her for the [service, repair, work, cleaning]
  24. pay someone to [write, babysit, do it for you]
  25. pay [them, your employees]
  26. pay them [the minimum, a weekly] wage
  27. pay her a visit
  28. pay attention!
  29. (not) paying attention (to)
  30. pay for your [actions, words, behavior]
  31. (you'll) pay for this!
  32. paid dearly for [it, what, having]
  33. [insurance, company, policy] pays out
  34. [the amount, how much, what] it pays out
  35. it pays to [be, know]
n
  1. [maternity, sick, vacation] pay
  2. [workers, employees] are [entitled to, eligible for] [maternity] pay
  3. [worker's, management, executive] pay
  4. [low, high, fair, reasonable, great] pay
  5. the job offers [low] rates of pay
  6. owes (a lot of) back pay (for)
  7. pay was [an issue, a sticking point]
  8. [negotiate, discuss] higher pay
  9. the strike was over workers' pay
  10. [mercenaries, hitmen] in the pay of (gangs)
n as adj
  1. a [higher, lower] pay rate
  2. a pay [slip, packet, package]
  3. on pay day
'pay' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Swedish - Swiss - absence - absent - account - addiction - additional - additionally - adequate - admission - advance - afford - after - agency - agent - agree - almost - amount - annual - applicant - arrange - arrangement - arrears - attention - auction - back - baggage - bail - balance - bill - bind - boarding - bond - booking - boy - brokerage - cab - calendar - card - cash - catering - cemetery - chase - check - church - city - class - commission - consideration - constant

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