paymaster

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/ˈpeɪmɑːstə/

noun

An official in charge of payments to employees, troops, etc.

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Meanings

nounpaymaster (plural paymasters)

plural paymasters

  1. An official in charge of payments to employees, troops, etc.
  2. A person or body which demands loyalty or services in return for payment (especially as paid in advance).

    "This would have been completely avoidable if the RDG and their paymasters at the DfT, and Transport Secretary Mark Harper, had invited us to talks sooner."

    2022 November 16, Mel Holley, “Network News: Rail strikes halted to allow for "intensive negotiations"”, in RAIL, number 970, page 9

Origin

From pay + master.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“paymaster.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paymaster. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paymaster,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paymaster.

Source: paymaster on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.