pay

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. compensate; discharge, pay off; render, offer; be profitable, yield [a profit], show a profit, be worthwhile. —n. wages, salary; payment, compensation. See payment, success, offer.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Monetary return]

Syn. profit, proceeds, interest, return, recompense, indemnity, reparation, rake-off, reward, perquisite, consideration, defrayment.

Ant. expense*, disbursement, outlay.

2. [Wages]

Syn. wage, compensation, salary, payment, hire, remuneration, commission, redress, fee, stipend, indemnity, earnings, settlement, consideration, reimbursement, recompensation, reckoning, satisfaction, honorarium, meed, reward, requital, emolument, time*, time and a half*, double time*, overtime*.

See Synonym Study at wage .

• in the pay of,

Syn. working for, engaged by, in the service of, in the employ of; see employed .

v.

1. [To give payment]

Syn. compensate, recompense, make payment, reward, remunerate, reimburse, repay, indemnify, discharge, recoup, refund, requite, settle, reckon with, put down, lay down, remit, make restitution, make reparation, hand over, liquidate, handle, take care of, give, confer, bequeath, defray, meet, prepay, advance, expend, disburse, clear, adjust, satisfy, bear the cost, bear the expense, finance, fund, shell out*, kick in*, dig up*, plank down*, plunk down*, put up*, stake*, foot the bill*, get square with the world*, sweeten the kitty*, pick up the tab*, pick up the check*, put one's money on the line*, fork out*, fork over*, come across*, come through with*, chip in*, square*, ante up*, cough up*; see also spend 1 .

Ant. receive*, owe, withhold, swindle.

2. [To produce a profit]

Syn. return, pay off, pay out, show profit, yield profit, yield excess, show gain, pay dividends, sweeten*, kick back*, weigh out*.

Ant. fail*, lose, become bankrupt.

3. [To retaliate]

Syn. repay, punish, requite; see revenge .

Syn.- pay is the simple, direct word meaning to give money, etc. due for services rendered, goods received, etc.; compensate implies a return, whether monetary or not, thought of as equivalent to the service given, the effort expended, or the loss sustained [ one could never be compensated for the loss of a child ] ; remunerate stresses the idea of payment for a service rendered, but it often also carries an implication of reward [ a bumper crop remunerated the farmer for past labors ] ; to reimburse is to pay back what has been expended [ to reimburse employees for traveling expenses ] ; to indemnify is to pay for what has been lost or damaged [ they were indemnified for the war destruction ] ; repay implies a paying back of money given to one or may refer to a doing or giving of anything in requital [ how can I repay you for your kindness? ] ; recompense stresses the idea of compensation or requital [ they felt adequately recompensed for their efforts ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

wages, salary, earnings, income, *take-home, profit, remuneration, fee, compensation, commission, cut, percentage. see money

II

v.

1. remit compensate, disburse, settle, cough up, *foot the bill, spend, expend, shell out, *fork over, *pick up the tab, contribute, bankroll, finance, remunerate, recompense.

2. be worthwhile be profitable, benefit, profit, serve, be advantageous.

3. suffer for *pay the piper, answer, atone, be punished.

4. give offer, extend.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To give payment to in return for goods or services rendered: compensate, recompense, remunerate. See PAY. 2. To give compensation to: compensate, indemnify, recompense, redress, reimburse, remunerate, repay, requite. See PAY. 3. To distribute (money) as payment. Also used with out: disburse, expend, give, lay out, outlay, spend. Informal: fork out (or over or up), shell out. See SAVE. 4. To set right by giving what is due. Also used with off or: up: clear, discharge, liquidate, satisfy, settle, square. See PAY. 5. To make as income or profit: bring in, clear, draw, earn, gain, gross, net2, produce, realize, repay, return, yield. See MONEY. 6. To give a satisfactory return to: compensate, indemnify, recompense, remunerate, repay, requite, reward. See PAY. II noun Payment for work done: compensation, earnings, emolument, fee, hire, remuneration, salary, stipend, wage. See PAY.