pay dearly

verb

To suffer as a result of one's actions.

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Meanings

verbpay dearly (third-person singular simple present pays dearly, present participle paying dearly, simple past and past participle paid dearly)

present singular third person pays dearly · participle present paying dearly · participle past paid dearly · past paid dearly

  1. figurativelyTo suffer as a result of one's actions.

    Both the G.W.R. and the L.S.W.R. had to pay dearly for the privilege of entering the Royal Borough, for the Prince Consort drove a hard bargain with each.

    1949 September and October, “Notes and News: The Windsor Centenary”, in Railway Magazine, page 340

Translations

French payer cher
  • payer cherTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

pay dearly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20dearly

MLA

“pay dearly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20dearly. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pay dearly,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20dearly.

Source: pay dearly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.