paycheck

noun

pay·​check ˈpā-ˌchek How to pronounce paycheck (audio)
Synonyms of paychecknext
1
: a check in payment of wages or salary
2

Examples of paycheck in a Sentence

I went to the office to pick up my paycheck. Your weekly paycheck will be almost $600 after taxes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The giveaway underscores the lengths restaurants and retailers are going to grab customers’ attention, hoping the dollars will follow, as consumers remain gloomy about the economy and keep a tighter hold on their paychecks. Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026 Save Your Pay, which transfers a percentage of each paycheck into savings, and Save Your Change, which rounds up checking account transactions to the nearest dollar and transfers the difference to savings. Andreina Rodriguez, CNBC, 10 Feb. 2026 Questions remain about how much visibility workers and their representatives will have into the detailed rule sets that now stand between every clock-in and every paycheck. Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 9 Feb. 2026 This January, Esnard skipped his own paycheck. Scott Horsley, NPR, 9 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for paycheck

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of paycheck was in 1899

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Paycheck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paycheck. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.

Kids Definition

paycheck

noun
pay·​check ˈpā-ˌchek How to pronounce paycheck (audio)
: a check in payment of wages or salary

More from Merriam-Webster on paycheck

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster