pays

1. Money given in return for work; salary or wages.

   Many employers have rules designed to keep employees from comparing their pays.

1. To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or services.

   he paid her off the books and in kind where possible

2. To discharge, as a debt or other obligation, by giving or doing what is due or required.

   he has paid his debt to society

3. To be profitable for.

   It didn't pay him to keep the store open any more.

4. To give (something else than money).

   to pay attention

5. To be profitable or worth the effort.

   crime doesn’t pay

6. To discharge an obligation or debt.

   He was allowed to go as soon as he paid.

7. To suffer consequences.

   He paid for his fun in the sun with a terrible sunburn.

8. To admit that a joke, punchline, etc., was funny.

   I'll pay that.

verb

To cover (the bottom of a vessel, a seam, a spar, etc.) with tar or pitch, or a waterproof composition of tallow, resin, etc.; to smear.