verb phrase · neutral
pay off debt
UK/peɪ ɒf dɛt/US/peɪ ɔːf dɛt/PAY·off·DEBT
Band 5-6speakingtask2
to finish repaying money that you owe; to clear a debt completely
Examples
“They worked extra hours for two years to pay off debt from their student loans.”
“Paying off debt quickly can save a lot of interest costs.”
“A financial plan helped them pay off debt within five years.”
Band 8 sentence
“With disciplined budgeting and extra payments, they managed to pay off debt two years earlier than planned.”
Collocations
- gradually pay off debt
- pay off credit card debt
Word family
pay off phrasal verbdebt noun
Common mistakes
pay out debt→pay off debt
pay debt→pay off debt / pay the debt
Say it for a higher band
5pay out debt→6clear the debt→7+pay off debt
Synonyms
clear a debt
Easily confused
get out of debt
“After several years of saving, they finally got out of debt and felt relieved.”
Related words
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In Shopping & Money
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