pay-off

• payoff

Deverbal from pay off.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpeɪ.ɒf/, American: IPA^(key): /ˈpeɪ.ɔːf/

pay-off (plural pay-offs)

2. A payment in full; the state of having been paid in full.

   At the current monthly payment level, it'll take 32 more months to reach pay-off.

4. A reward.

   What's the pay-off for putting up with her nonsense for ages on end?

6. A return on investment.

   How soon could we realistically expect any pay-off from loading up on shares of that company?

8. A bribe.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bribe

   The prison break never could have succeeded if it hadn't been for multiple pay-offs to various corrupt officers.

   • 1981 September, “Sex and Vice”, in Songs of the Gay Liberation Quire:

     Darlinghurst cops will get you/Clean and bright/Rich and white/See where pay-offs will get you

10. (colloquial) A resolution or justification of an event that has already occurred, especially in fiction.

    Where's the pay-off for that whole segment of the plot?

12. (baseball) Ellipsis of payoff pitch.

    The bases are loaded, so he'd better make the pay-off count.