Meaning & use
paid up
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having paid all the money owed, especially a membership fee or the price of shares or insurance.
Grammar: Before a noun it is hyphenated: a paid-up member. After a verb it is two words: she is paid up.
Patterns
- fully paid up
- a paid-up member
Only paid-up members may vote at the meeting.
I am paid up on the gym until the end of June.
The company has fully paid-up shares worth ten million dollars.
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
Fully committed and loyal to a cause, group or belief.
Grammar: Usually appears in the phrase fully paid-up before a noun.
Patterns
- a fully paid-up supporter of something
He is a fully paid-up fan of the local team.
She became a paid-up believer in recycling after the visit.
My uncle is a paid-up member of the complaining classes.
Common combinations
- paid-up member
- Every paid-up member got a free ticket.
- fully paid up
- The loan is fully paid up, so we own the car.
- paid-up capital
- The firm's paid-up capital doubled in two years.
- stay paid up
- You must stay paid up to keep your insurance.
Synonyms and how they differ
- settled
- Settled says a debt is cleared, but paid up is common for ongoing membership or fees.
- in good standing
- In good standing is more formal and covers rules as well as payments.
- fully committed
- Fully committed matches the second sense, but lacks the joking note of a paid-up supporter.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: paid up or paid off?
paid up vs paid off
Paid off means a debt has been cleared or an effort brought a reward; paid up emphasizes being current on payments.
Practice
Which sentence uses paid-up correctly before a noun?
Choose one answer.
Paid-up works as an adjective before member. The other options use it as if it were a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “paid up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.