Meaning & use
PayPal
Last updated
Meanings
proper nounpropertrademark
A company and online service that lets people send and receive money electronically.
Grammar: Used as a name, so no article: I paid with PayPal, not 'with a PayPal'.
Patterns
- pay by PayPal
- pay with PayPal
- send money through PayPal
- PayPal an amount to someone
She sold her old bike and the buyer paid her by PayPal.
You can pay with PayPal if you do not want to enter your card details.
He sent me the money through PayPal the same day.
verbtransitivetrademarkinformal
To send someone money using the PayPal service.
Grammar: Informal and mainly American; takes a person or an amount as its object: PayPal me the cash.
Patterns
- PayPal someone something
- PayPal someone an amount
- PayPal an amount to someone
Can you PayPal me half the bill tonight?
She PayPal'd the deposit to the landlord.
Common combinations
- pay by PayPal
- The shop lets you pay by PayPal at checkout.
- a PayPal account
- I opened a PayPal account to buy things online.
- send money through PayPal
- He sends money through PayPal every month.
- pay with PayPal
- Customers who pay with PayPal get a receipt by email.
Commonly confused: PayPal or pal?
PayPal vs pal
Pal is a friendly word for a friend; PayPal is only the name of the payment service.
Practice
Which sentence uses PayPal correctly?
Choose one answer.
PayPal is a proper noun used without an article, so 'by PayPal' is correct. 'By a PayPal' wrongly adds an article, and the plural 'PayPals' does not exist.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “PayPal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.