pay forward

verb

To propagate goodwill by helping another person in turn, after having been the recipient of help or a good deed.

Similar
pay it forward
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

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

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

  1. idiomatictransitiveTo propagate goodwill by helping another person in turn, after having been the recipient of help or a good deed.

    Synonyms: pay it forward

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo propagate goodwill by helping another person in turn, after having been the recipient of help or a good deed.

Similar
pay it forward
Also see
pay it forward

Origin

Modelled on pay back (“to repay”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pay forward. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20forward

MLA

“pay forward.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20forward. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pay forward,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20forward.

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