payday

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   The day on which an employer pays wages or a salary to employees.

   Grammar: Often used with the or a possessive: Friday is payday.

   Patterns

   • on payday
   • before payday

   Friday is payday, so we are going out for dinner.

   I am short of money until payday.

   Payday is the fifteenth and the last day of each month.

2. 2nouncountableinformal

   A large sum of money earned or won, especially a big payment for a performance, deal or lucky result.

   Grammar: Usually appears with an or an adjective such as big: a big payday.

   Patterns

   • a big payday
   • a payday for someone

   The boxer expects a huge payday for the title fight.

   The film deal could be a nice payday for the author.

   The sale of the company was a once-in-a-lifetime payday for the founders.

Word forms

Common combinations

payday loan

She took out a payday loan to cover the rent.

before payday

Money is tight before payday.

big payday

The athlete got a big payday after signing.

payday is Friday

Payday is Friday, so I will pay you back then.

wait for payday

We will have to wait for payday to buy a new laptop.

monthly payday

The monthly payday falls on the 25th.

Synonyms and how they differ

pay date

Pay date is a more neutral, administrative term, while payday is the everyday word.

wage day

Wage day is older and used mainly for weekly manual wages, so payday is more general.

windfall

A windfall is an unexpected gain, whereas a payday in its second sense is a big payment that may be well planned.

Opposites

Word family

pay verb

to give money for work or goods

paycheck noun

the check or money you receive for work

payroll noun

a list of employees and what they are paid

payment noun

an amount of money paid

Commonly confused: payday or pay day?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “payday”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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