payoff: Meaning and Definition of

pay•off

Pronunciation: (pā'ôf", -of"), [key]
— n.
  1. the payment of a salary, debt, wager, etc.
  2. the time at which such payment is made.
  3. the consequence, outcome, or final sequence in a series of events, actions, or circumstances: The payoff was when they fired him.
  4. the climax of something, esp. a story or joke.
  5. a settlement or reckoning, as in retribution or reward.
  6. a bribe.
—adj.
  1. yielding results, esp. rewarding or decisive results: The payoff play was the long pass into the end zone.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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