“Paid” or “Payed”—Which to use?

“Paid” or “Payed”

Overview

paid / payed are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

paid: (verb) give money, usually in exchange for goods or services. (verb) do or give something to somebody in return. (verb) be worth it. (verb) render. (verb) bear (a cost or penalty), in recompense for some action. (verb) make a compensation for. (verb) discharge or settle. (adjective) marked by the reception of pay.

payed: (verb) give money, usually in exchange for goods or services. (verb) do or give something to somebody in return. (verb) be worth it. (verb) render. (verb) bear (a cost or penalty), in recompense for some action. (verb) make a compensation for. (verb) discharge or settle.

Pronunciation

paid: p·EY·d

payed: NA

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Examples in Context

Examples of “paid”

…loans guaranteed by Marcos Valério paid expenses connected to the government…
…the city junk yard to paid off a hefty debt from…
…Salvador has yet to be paid that fee by either CBS…
The Ten Eycks were paid the difference in return for…
…that the man had been paid $20 for his testimonial and…
…the factories because milk was paid by volume.
Valério had paid back the first R$300,000 of…
…$400 million cost would be paid in part by the federal…
…often among the most highly paid executives of major American corporations,…
(They paid sixpence.)

Examples of “payed”

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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