Meanings
present singular third person pays one's own way · participle present paying one's own way · participle past paid one's own way · past paid one's own way
- To pay for oneself, not relying on the generosity of others.
He paid his own way through community college and then transferred to a state university.
Synonyms: pay one's own freight
- Synonym of pay for itself.
Any in-house product development must pay its own way.
Synonyms: pay for itself
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo pay for oneself, not relying on the generosity of others.
verbSynonym of pay for itself.
Cite this entry
pay one's own way. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20one's%20own%20way
“pay one's own way.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20one's%20own%20way. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pay one's own way,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20one's%20own%20way.
Source: pay one's own way on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.