pay
gb/pˈeɪ/ us/pˈeɪ/
A1
Inglés
~ 1900
Acepciones
0 acepciones
Verbo
A1
action
1
Give money for goods or services
To give money to someone for something you buy or use, or for work they have done.
Patrón de uso:
to pay [someone/something] [money/amount]
Error frecuente:
Learners sometimes confuse 'pay' with 'buy'. 'Pay' refers to giving money, while 'buy' refers to getting something by giving money.
Sinónimos
remunerate (More formal; often used in business or legal contexts.)
Antónimos
receive (Opposite direction of transaction—getting money instead of giving it.)
Colocaciones
pay cash
|pay a bill
|pay the rent
|pay a fine
|pay the price
Temas
business
|daily life
|finance
|core_vocabulary
Ejemplos
- I need to pay the electricity bill today.
- She paid the taxi driver and got out of the car.
- We always pay cash at that market.
- He paid $50 for the concert ticket.
- They paid the waiter before leaving.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- I pay for my lunch every day.
- She pays the bus driver two dollars.
- We pay rent every month.
- He pays for his coffee with a card.
- They pay the shop for the bread.
Sustantivo
A2
entity
2
Money earned from work
The money you get when you work.
Sinónimos
salary (Usually refers to a fixed regular payment, often monthly or annually.)
Antónimos
unpaid (Describes work or a position that does not provide money.)
Colocaciones
high pay
|low pay
|equal pay
|pay rate
|pay scale
Temas
business
|work
|finance
|core_vocabulary
Ejemplos
- Teachers are asking for higher pay.
- Her pay is deposited into her bank account every month.
- The job offers good pay and benefits.
- Equal pay for equal work is important.
- His pay increased after he was promoted.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- My pay comes on Friday.
- He gets good pay at his job.
- The pay is low but the work is easy.
- She wants more pay for extra work.
- We get our pay every two weeks.
Verbo
B1
action
3
Suffer consequences for actions
To have something bad happen because of what you did.
Patrón de uso:
to pay (the price) for [something]
Error frecuente:
Learners may take this literally and misunderstand the figurative meaning.
Sinónimos
atone (Focuses on making amends, often in a moral or religious sense.)
Antónimos
benefit (To receive good results instead of bad ones.)
Colocaciones
pay dearly
|pay the price
|pay for mistakes
Temas
emotions
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Ejemplos
- He paid the price for ignoring the warning signs.
- You'll pay dearly if you cheat on the test.
- She paid for her mistake with a week of hard work.
- They paid heavily for their poor planning.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- I paid the price for being late.
- He paid for his mistake at work.
- She paid dearly for her bad choice.
- They paid for not studying before the exam.
Verbo
A2
action
4
Give attention or respect
To look at, listen to, or think about something carefully; to show respect.
Patrón de uso:
to pay [attention/respect/homage] to [something/someone]
Sinónimos
give (A more general term; 'give attention' overlaps directly.)
Antónimos
ignore (To deliberately not give attention or respect.)
Colocaciones
pay attention
|pay respect
|pay tribute
Temas
communication
|emotions
|relationships
|core_vocabulary
Ejemplos
- Please pay attention to the road while driving.
- We paid our respects at the funeral.
- She paid little attention to his warnings.
- They paid tribute to the retiring teacher.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- Pay attention in class, please.
- We paid respect to our teacher.
- He pays attention when I speak.
- She pays no attention to the rules.
Gramática
Forma de diccionario
pay
AFI
GB/pˈeɪ/
US/pˈeɪ/
Sílabas y acento
pay (1 sílaba)
Stress on 1st syllable (pay)
Formas de la palabra
Noun
- Base: pay
- Plural: pay
Verb
- Base: pay
- 3rd Person Singular: pays
- Present Participle: paying
- Past: paid, payed
- Past Participle: paid
Familia de palabras
Forms
pays
verb
paying
verb
paid
verb
payed
verb
Negative and opposite forms
Advanced or less common
payee
noun
prepay
verb
Aspectos destacados
- Irregular past participle: paid Verb
Expresiones
pay back
1/pˈeɪ bˈæk/
phrasal verb
Return money or retaliate against someone
To give back money you borrowed; or to do something bad to someone because they did something bad to you.
Ejemplos
- I'll pay you back next week.
- He wanted to pay her back for the insult.
pay off
1/pˈeɪ ˈɔf/
phrasal verb
Repay debt or get benefit from effort
To finish paying all the money you owe; or to get a good result from hard work.
Ejemplos
- We finally paid off our mortgage last month.
- All her studying paid off when she passed the exam.
pay attention
1/pˈeɪ ətˈɛnʃən/
fixed phrase
Focus your mind on something
To listen to, watch, or think about something carefully.
Ejemplos
- Please pay attention to the instructions so you don’t make mistakes.
- Pay attention to the instructions so you don't make mistakes.
- He paid close attention during the lecture.
- Children should pay attention in class.
pay the price
1/pˈeɪ ðə pɹˈaɪs/
idiom
Suffer because of earlier actions
To have something bad happen because of what you did before.
Ejemplos
- If you ignore your health, you will pay the price later.
- If you don't study, you'll pay the price later.
- He paid the price for his careless driving with a heavy fine.
- He paid the price for years of unhealthy eating.
pay tribute to
1/pˈeɪ tɹˈɪbjut tə/
fixed phrase
formal
Show public respect or admiration
To say or do something that shows you respect and admire someone or something.
Ejemplos
- They paid tribute to the firefighters who died in service.
- The mayor paid tribute to her long years of service.
pay tribute to
2/pˈeɪ tɹˈɪbjut tə/
fixed phrase
to express respect or admiration
To say, write, or do something to show that you respect or admire a person or thing.
Ejemplos
- Thousands gathered to pay tribute to the victims of the disaster.
- In his speech, he paid tribute to his parents for their support.
- Fans paid tribute to the singer by holding candles and singing her songs.