payroll

[ pey-rohl ]

noun

1. a list of employees to be paid, pay, with the amount due to each.
2. the sum total of these amounts.
3. the actual money on hand for distribution:

   The bandits got away with the payroll.

4. the total number of people employed by a business firm or organization.

verb (used with object)

1. to fund or subsidize:

   to be payrolled by the State Department.

payroll

/ ˈpeɪˌrəʊl /

noun

1. a list of employees, specifying the salary or wage of each
2. 1. the total of these amounts or the actual money equivalent
   2. ( as modifier )

      a payroll tax

Word History and Origins

Origin of payroll¹

First recorded in 1765–75; pay ¹ + roll

Example Sentences

The firm has 2,200 workers on the payroll.

From BBC

But it wasn’t the department’s payroll footing the bill — it was her unsuspecting grandmother, authorities said.

From Los Angeles Times

Ohtani’s historic deferrals have kept the team’s actual payroll levels flexible, and seemingly made club executives more willing to pay luxury tax penalties long-term.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr. Perez could afford slim markups because he cut corners on required expenses such as workers’ compensation payments and payroll taxes, according to interviews and two decades of criminal cases against him.

From New York Times

Prosecutors at the time said he under-reported wages and revenue so as to avoid payroll, income and sales taxes.

From BBC

Related Words

• amount
• budget
• charge
• consumption
• debt
• expenditure
• insurance
• investment
• liability
• loan
• loss
• mortgage
• obligation
• outlay
• price
• price tag
• rate
• risk
• spending
• sum