Meaning & use
payment discrepancy
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A difference between the amount of money paid and the amount that was expected, agreed, or recorded.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'a' or in the plural 'payment discrepancies'.
Patterns
- a payment discrepancy
- payment discrepancy between something and something
- resolve a payment discrepancy
The accountant found a payment discrepancy of $200 in the records.
We need to resolve the payment discrepancy before the audit.
A payment discrepancy can happen when exchange rates change.
Word forms
| plural | payment discrepancies |
|---|
Common combinations
- resolve a payment discrepancy
- The bank took two weeks to resolve the payment discrepancy.
- payment discrepancy between the invoice and the receipt
- There was a payment discrepancy between the invoice and the receipt.
- report a payment discrepancy
- You should report any payment discrepancy to the finance department immediately.
- significant payment discrepancy
- A significant payment discrepancy prompted a full review.
Synonyms and how they differ
- payment difference
- More general and less formal; it can refer to any difference, not just a problematic one.
- accounting discrepancy
- Broader; it can involve any accounting item, not only payments.
Opposites
Word family
- discrepancy noun
- A lack of agreement or consistency between things.
- discrepant adjective
- Showing a difference or inconsistency.
Commonly confused: payment discrepancy or payment default?
payment discrepancy vs payment default
Default means failing to pay at all, while a discrepancy means paying a different amount than expected.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'payment discrepancy' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option B correctly describes a difference between two amounts. Option A treats it as a payment itself. Option C suggests it is an action. Option D uses an adjective that does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “payment discrepancy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.