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Glite Dictionary
to foot the bill

to foot the bill

29 5.3
To pay for something, often when it is expensive or unexpected
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : pagar
  • My editor's agreed to foot the bill.
  • taxpayers footing the bill

And no, my client did not foot the bill for the cost of this toy tool.

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Examples

  • Nor can law firms expect clients to foot the bill for this entire investment.

    Academic text (2017)

  • The company had to foot the bill for the unexpected repairs to their equipment.

  • - Let me foot the bill.

    The Other Man (2008)

  • I should foot the bill?

    Seven Years in Tibet (1997)

  • In addition to the privacy concerns, the states would have to foot the bill of implementation.

    Blog text (11)

  • Once you ask other people to foot the bill, then their preferences have priority.

    Blog text (7)

  • - Someone else is footing the bill.

    White House Down (2013)

  • I didn't ask you to foot the bill for this trip or any other.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • I can't foot the bill for everything around here, so don't ask for money.

    Caddyshack (1980)

  • I footed the bill for all my travels to the 27 states I'd completed thus far.

    National Anthem Girl (2019)

Synonyms

to pay
vsto foot the bill
∞ 1.0

To give money for something you buy or owe

is specifically about covering sizeable or unexpected costs
to pick up
vsto foot the bill
77 2.8

To pay for something, often for someone else

focuses more on covering larger or unexpected total costs
to foot
vsto foot the bill
  • Informal
32 7.9

To pay the cost of something, often a large bill

is the informal idiom with identical meaning
to spring for
vsto foot the bill
  • Informal
22 7.6

To pay for something as a treat for other people

emphasizes paying sizeable or unforeseen costs rather than treats
to pony up
vsto foot the bill
  • Informal
21 8.2

Pay money, often reluctantly, when others expect it

refers more to covering large or surprising expenses generally
to pay the freight
vsto foot the bill
  • Informal
1 8.1

To accept the cost or bad result of something

is narrower, mainly about paying for large unexpected expenses

How Much

to foot the bill
  • Informal
29 5.3
to pick up
77 2.8
to contribute
883 2.7
to chip in
31 3.2

Surface Forms

foot the bill infinitive
footed the bill past
footed the bill past participle
footing the bill present participle
foots the bill third person singular

Morphology

foot + the + bill

The meaning is directly compositional: the verb 'foot' in its sense 'to pay/cover an expense' combined with 'bill' (an invoice or amount owed) yields 'to pay the bill'. A B1 learner who knows these constituent senses can therefore derive the MWE meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrase foot the bill may come from old shop accounts where the total was written at the foot (the bottom) of the bill (the list of charges). Because 'to foot' meant adding up the numbers, the phrase came to mean 'to pay' the whole bill.