verb phrase · academic
pay dividends
/peɪ dɪˈvɪdəndz/pay di·VID·ends
task2speaking
to produce beneficial results or advantages over time
Examples
“Investing in early education can pay dividends for society later on.”
“A stable work–life balance often pays dividends in employee productivity.”
“The training programme paid dividends when the team met its targets.”
Band 8 sentence
“Strategic investment in staff development often pays dividends in higher retention and productivity.”
Collocations
- pay dividends in the long run
- paid dividends for
Word family
pays dividends verb phrasepaid dividends verb phrase (past)
Common mistakes
pay the dividends→pay dividends
pay off→pay dividends
Say it for a higher band
5be useful→6bring benefits→7+pay dividends
Synonyms
be rewarding
Easily confused
pay off
“All her overtime finally paid off when she got the promotion.”
Related words
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