pay-off
/ˈpeɪ.ɒf/
"pay-off" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pay-off” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A payment in full; the state of having been paid in full.
Corpus desk
Index EN-pay-off · pay-off · English
pay-off · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pay-off |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpeɪ.ɒf/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “pay-off” in English
Rare enough to double-check
pay-off is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpeɪ.ɒf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for pay-off, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Deverbal from pay off. The correct English form is pay-off, spelled P-A-Y---O-F-F.
Definition
- 1A payment in full; the state of having been paid in full.
- 2A reward.
- 3A return on investment.
- 4A bribe.
- 5A resolution or justification of an event that has already occurred.
- 6Ellipsis of payoff pitch.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pay-off appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
At the current monthly payment level, it'll take 32 more months to reach pay-off.
What's the pay-off for putting up with her nonsense for ages on end?
Etymology
Deverbal from pay off.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.