Is payed a correct word

When it comes to the past simple tense of the word pay, it is common to see it as either “paid” or “payed”. It is easy to get these words mixed up or think that one is incorrect, but they are actually both real words. They do, however, have different meanings.

Paid meaning

When the word pay is being used referring to finance or transactions, the proper past tense use is paid. Paid means to use money to purchase a good or service. For example, you paid your bills, or you paid for dinner.

Paid can also refer to more than just money. If you went to a funeral, you paid respects to that person and their family. If you gave someone your attention, you paid attention to them. If something turns out your way after hard work, your work paid off.

Example Sentences
I got paid yesterday, so we can go out tonight.

The ransom was paid to get the stolen information back.

I paid attention during the entire lecture, and surprisingly I learned a lot.

Payed meaning

When the word pay is being used in a nautical sense, the correct past tense use is payed. Payed has two very specific definitions. The first definition of the word is to give slack to a rope; payed out.

The second definition of the word payed comes from the nautical sense. It means to cover with tar. For example, you payed the deck to prevent leaks.

It is highly uncommon for the word payed to be used properly in a sentence. It is a word that has a very limited meaning. In most cases, when you see someone type payed, it is a spelling error.

Example Sentences:
The rope was payed out before I could stop it.

The captain payed out the additional rope for the anchor.

Paid is used more commonly than payed, even in a nautical sense. You can use paid in place of payed, but payed can’t be used in place of paid.

If you are using the word payed to refer to a financial transaction, that is a spelling error. For instance, you shouldn’t say you payed your bills online. In this situation, you would use the word paid for the sentence to be correct.

An easy way to remember the difference between paid and payed is to think of the word pay as the word say. Say is conjugated in the same way that pay is because they are both irregular verbs.

Pay and say both end with ay. In their past tense form, they both also end with aid. The proper past tense of say is said, not sayed. This will help you understand which word is the proper word to use.

Paid Off or Payed Off?

In this situation, we can assume it is referring to a financial transaction. For the sentence to be correct, you would use the word paid. For example, I paid off my car loan.

If the situation is referring to hard work being done and a good reward coming from it, the correct word would also be paid off. For example, all of the hard work he put in paid off big time.

Paid Out or Payed Out?

This one is a little more difficult because they can technically both be right. You would need to really pay attention to the context of the sentence to determine which word is right.

For example:

The insurance finally paid out after my car accident.

The construction working payed out the cable as he installed it.

Paid vs. Payed – What’s the Gist?

Of these two words, if you want the past tense of pay, only one of them is correct.

• Payed does not function as a past tense form.
• Paid is a past tense verb.

The word pay has an irregular verb form. Contrary to what you might think, to form the past tense of pay, you do not use an –ed suffix.

How to Use Paid in a Sentence

Paid definition: As mentioned, the word pay is an irregular verb. The three principal parts are pay (present), paid (past), have paid (past participle).

Pay functions as a transitive verb, meaning to return for services rendered; to hire for money; to fulfill a debt.

For example:

• The employer pays his employees every two weeks. (Present Tense Verb)
• After completing the installation of the patio, the contractor was paid. (Past Tense Verb)
• The managers have paid all the employees. (Present Perfect Tense Verb)

Additionally, the word paid functions an adjective, indicating as being marked by the receipt of payment, or having been paid for.

For example:

• One of the employee’s benefits is receiving paid sick time. (Adjective)
• Alex Trebek is a paid endorser for Colonial Penn life insurance. (Adjective)

Paid is either a past tense transitive verb, or it acts an adjective.

How to Use Payed in a Sentence

Payed definition: Although it is sometimes applied as the past tense of pay, using payed for paid is not correct.

That being said, there is a sense in which payed can be correct. In nautical terms, payed is the past tense of pay, meaning to use pitch as a seal to prevent leaks.

For example:

• To make the boat seaworthy, a sailor payed the open creases between the planks with hot tar. (Past Tense Verb)

Avoid using the word payed for paid.

Outside Examples of Payed vs. Paid

• I believe that the work of a stay-at-home parent is very valuable. They keep the house clean and care for the children which is a very important role in a family, but I don’t believe they should get payed [read paid]. –The New York Times
• It turns out that was a blatant lie. Between June and August of 2018, the Friess campaign payed [read paid] The Trafalgar Group LLC $98,000 for “consulting” services, with the final payment coming just days after the poll in question was completed. –The Casper Star Tribune
• The donations enabled Buttigieg’s campaign to swell to hundreds of paid staff and compete against his higher-profile and well financed opponents, but also marred his image as the Midwestern mayor-next-door after images leaked of a posh campaign fundraiser in a Napa Valley wine cave. –The San Diego Union-Tribune
• In an attempt to protect future front-runners, the RNC sanctioned a limited number of debates in 2016 — a move establishment Democrats supporting Hillary Clinton were happy to follow. The problem is that voters often make decisions based on what they see of the candidates in authentic, unscripted moments; that’s why campaigns value earned media so much more than paid media, and why the debates are do-or-die events. –The Washington Post

In the first two bullet points directly above, the usage of payed was incorrect.

Phrases That Use Payed and Paid

Unsurprisingly, there are not any phrases for the word payed. While there are a couple of phrases that use the word paid, there are many idioms for the word pay, including:

I’ve paid my dues: By putting in the time, someone has earned the right to some perks.

• When the teacher was asked to take lunch duty, she refused, replying: “I’ve paid my dues.”

Paid in full: Someone has rendered complete payment.

• The receipt for the furniture was stamped: “Paid in full.”

Pay (one’s) respects: The act of expressing well wishes or to offer condolences.

• She attended the funeral to pay her respects to the family.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul: A figure of speech, meaning taking money designated for something and putting it toward something else.

• The senior citizen had to rob Peter to pay Paul when he took the money for his medicine to pay the heating bill.

How to Remember These Words

The best way to remember to pick the correct spelling of the past tense of pay is to look at the letter i in the word paid. Relate it to the personal pronoun I by saying that I have to make sure that people get paid.

For example:

• I paid the bills this month.
• I want to get paid this month.

Although you might be tempted, refrain from using the past tense nautical term payed to mean that you have rendered payment. If you don’t, you might be tarred and feathered with that pitch from the ship by the grammar police.

Article Summary

Is payed or paid correct? The confusion lies with which word is the correct spelling for the past tense of pay. As an irregular verb form, it is paid and not payed.

Think of it this way: most of us want to get paid and not played.

• Payed is not the past tense form for pay.
• Paid is the past tense form of pay.

Payed and paid have the same pronunciations but different meanings. One can be used in nautical contexts, while the other has something to do with finances. Learn the difference between paid and payed with sentence examples in this article.

Payed vs. Paid

Payed and paid have the same pronunciations but different meanings. Paid is the correct spelling of the simple past tense and past participle form of pay. It’s an irregular verb, meaning it does not end in -ed.

Meanwhile, payed is a rare word that is only used in the realm of marine. It refers to the act of coating parts of a boat with waterproof material. It is not the simple past tense or past participle form of pay.

Payed Uses

Payed sometimes applies as the past tense of pay, but not for pay that means to transact. It is the simple past tense of pay, which means to use the pitch as a seal to prevent leaks. Consider this sentence example.

• The sailor payed the creases to make the boat seaworthy.

Paid Uses

Paid is the simple past conjugation and past participle form of the verb pay. It is a Latin word that found its way into English through paier. Originally, it means to pacify. Today, the word pay means to give someone money that is due for work done. For example:

• I paid $300 to have this cabinet built.

The word pay also means to suffer a loss or other misfortune as a consequence of an action. For example:

• She paid for her impatience.

Pay also means to give or bestow, usually some sort of attention or respect. For example:

• We paid our grandparents a visit yesterday.

Paid can also be an adjective when in past participle form. We usually find this word before a noun. For example:

• All our paid taxes will contribute to the building of bridges and roads in the city.

Phrases That Use Payed and Paid

There are no common phrases with the word payed. But there are a few expressions and idioms with paid you can consider. Here are some of them.

• I’ve paid my dues, which means the speaker has earned the right to a few benefits by putting in the time.
  • She has paid her dues over the last 30 years. Now she can happily retire.
• Paid in full, which means someone has completed their payment for something.
  • The documents show that their bill has been paid in full.
• Pay (one’s) respects, which means expressing well wishes or offering sincere condolences.
  • The employees are coming to pay their respects to the late supervisor.
• Robbing Peter to pay Paul, which means taking money for something and putting it somewhere else.
  • Miranda moved money from her college savings account to her main account, robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Examples of Payed Used in a Sentence

• The captain of the wooden ship payed the deck.
• The yacht looks amazing but should be payed.

Examples of Paid Used in a Sentence

• You should have paid attention to the speaker yesterday.
• This house is already paid for in full.

• Twitter’s paid-for verification feature is rolling out once again on Monday. It was paused last month after being swamped by impersonators. (BBC)
• Railroad workers could get the paid sick days that were at the heart of their threat to go on strike – if the Biden administration steps in with an executive order. (CNN)
• The boss of easyJet was paid almost £3m in 2022, in the year when the airline made a £208m loss and cancelled thousands of flights because of staffing and other problems. (The Guardian)

How to Remember the Difference and Correct Form

Picking the correct spelling shouldn’t be complicated. Remember that pay is an irregular verb, which means the simple past form does not follow the typical pattern. It should not end in -ed. Instead, we change the letter y to i and add d.

You can associate it with the personal pronoun I by saying that I have to make sure I pay my debts.

Is It Payed Off or Paid Off

The correct term is paid off. This phrasal verb is an informal term that means to yield good results or to succeed. Here’s an example.

• All her perseverance paid off after getting a promotion.

Paid off also means to pay a debt in full. For example:

• My parents paid off their mortgage.

Is It Paid or Payed Attention?

The correct term is paid attention. The verb means to watch, listen to, or think about someone carefully with interest. For example:

• We paid attention to his speech last night.

Final Word on Paid vs. Payed

Payed and paid are pronounced similarly. They are also the simple past and past participle forms of the verb pay. But they have different meanings.

Remember:

• Payed is the past form of pay, which means to coat boat parts with waterproof material.
• Paid is the simple past and past participle forms of pay, which means to exchange money for goods or services.

This page takes a look at a commonly misspelt term and identifies which is correct out of “paid attention” and “payed attention.” Continue reading for examples and definitions of “paid attention” and “payed attention.”

The correct option is “paid attention” because it is the past tense of the verb “to pay”, with the meaning of “placing” or “offering” attention. However, “pay” has another meaning: covering the bottom of a boat with a substance such as tar. The past tense of this is “payed.”

Concerning the action of “paying attention”, the correct spelling is “paid attention” because “paid” is the past tense of the verb when it means “giving attention” or paying for something.

However, the word “payed” does exist, and it is the past tense of an alternative meaning of “pay”, which is used in nautical circles.

In this context, “pay” refers to covering or coating the bottom of a boat, often with tar. Although it is quite a specialized use, it is still a verb in use today. However, the spelling “paid” is usually preferred even in this sense.

Here are some examples of “paid attention” in a sentence:

• I paid attention in class which is why I got good results.
• I never paid attention in school, which is why I failed.

Paid Attention

The term “paid attention” means you offer your attention to something or someone, usually by listening or watching something. If you “pay attention” to something, you offer it your concentration and focus. The correct spelling for this meaning is always “paid attention.”

Here are some examples:

• We paid attention to every word he said because his words were so impactful.
• He paid attention to what you told him and improved his behavior.

Payed Attention

The term “payed attention” is incorrect, and “payed” is not the correct spelling of the word “pay” in this context.

The only context that the word “payed” is used for is as a nautical term referring to covering the bottom of a boat in tar or similar substances. However, even in this context, “paid” is often preferred to “payed.”

Conclusion

When discussing the process of placing or offering “attention” to something, the correct spelling is always “paid attention”, and there is no alternative. The word “payed” does exist but only when referring to coating the bottom of boats, and never for “attention.”