Dictionary

paycheck en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈpeɪ.t͡ʃɛk/ (Received-Pronunciation, US)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From pay (“wages or salary”) + check (“a means of payment”).

Meanings

1. (US) A periodic payment, usually in the form of a paper check, received by an employee from an employer for work performed.
   • He was delighted after getting his first paycheck, but subsequently blew it all on the horses.
   • They took my whole paycheck and I know why / 'Cause I got high, 'cause I got high 2001, “Because I Got High”, in Because I Got High, performed by Afroman:
   • We're a super sad generation / Killing time and losing our paychecks 2019, “Super Sad Generation”, performed by Arlo Parks:
   • The teachers are not there to help you. Most oft them are still freelancers and the last thing they want is more competition. They are there because they need a steady paycheck and they hope to score some pussy! 1991, Daniel Clowes, Art School Confidential:
   • With the help of some low-end boosting, Dinklage musters a decent amount of kid-appropriate menace—although he never does explain his gift for finding chunks of ice shaped like pirate ships—but Romano and Leary mainly sound bored, droning through their lines as if they’re simultaneously texting the contractors building the additions on their houses funded by their fat sequel paychecks. 2012 July 12, Sam Adams, “Ice Age: Continental Drift”, in AV Club:
   • Last week, TSA agents missed their first full paychecks. Some employees are still at work, with the promise of back pay when the shutdown ends. But others can't or won't forego paychecks. 2026 March 23, Barry Petchesky, “ICE Agents Deployed To Nation’s Swamped Airports To Stand Around And Do Nothing”, in Defector, archived from the original on 23 Mar 2026:

Forms

Coordinates

payslip

Deriveds

live paycheck to paycheck · Whole Paycheck

Translations (6)

ru зарпла́та (money received on payday as payment for work performed) · bg заплата (money received on payday as payment for work performed) · es cheque de pago (money received on payday as payment for work performed) · pl wypłata (money received on payday as payment for work performed) · es cheque salarial (money received on payday as payment for work performed) · bg надница (money received on payday as payment for work performed)