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Phrasal Verbs

pay up

This page is about the phrasal verb pay up

Meaning

If somebody pays up, they pay money they owe to someone even though they don't really want to.

Synonym

cough up (informal)

For example

  • pay up Brett lost a thousand dollars playing pool in a bar, and if he hadn't paid up he would have been in big trouble.

  • pay up The mafia demands protection money from small businesses, and if someone doesn't pay up they'll be attacked and maybe even killed.

Quick Quiz

After the fire, it took the insurance company a long time to pay up the money

a. I owed them

b. they owed me

c. they made us
a) I owed them b) they owed me c) they made us

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1000 Phrasal Verbs in Context

Contributor: Matt Errey