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to prepay

to prepay

7 3.0
Pay for something before you get it
  • verb
  • /priːˈpeɪ/
: prepagar
  • Saving money is why people prepay for several days' worth of rides on the Chicago Transit Authority and Pace.
  • have prepaid

The last thing I bought is I prepaid for two years of a gym membership.

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Examples

  • Simply prepay for a set number of articles from AIP journals and pay as little as $3 per article.

    Academic text (2004)
  • I'm headed to the Pilates class that you prepaid for but keep missing.

  • I would like to prepay ten sessions in advance.

  • Did you prepay for the gasoline?

  • I had a guest who checked out early but prepaid for one more night.

    Blog text (19)
  • Oh, you have to prepay for all the snacks and beverages.

  • The last thing I bought is I prepaid for two years of a gym membership.

  • Today more than ever, people are choosing to pre-plan or prepay for their own funeral arrangements.

    Blog text (4)
  • As soon as my contract is up, I'm ditching my smartphone and getting a prepaid Nokia.

    Blog text (23)
  • I decided to prepay for my vacation package to save money.

Synonyms

to advance
vsto prepay
8 4.6

To pay someone money before they earn it

is for paying before receiving goods or services rather than before work finishes
to ante
vsto prepay
7 8.9

To pay money in advance as a required deposit or guarantee

is a general payment made early rather than a required contribution

How Much

to pay
∞ 1.0
to prepay
7 3.0
to ante
7 8.9

Surface Forms

prepay infinitive
prepaid past
prepaid past participle
prepaying present participle
prepays third person singular

Morphology

prepay = pay (transparent) = pre + pay

The meaning is directly predictable as 'pay in advance' from the common prefix 'pre-' and the verb 'pay'.

Etymology

Prepay begins with pre- meaning 'before' and ends with pay, so to prepay is to 'pay before' you receive something or get a service.