To pay out is to hand over a large sum of money. Reluctantly, usually.
Insurance uses it precisely, and whether a policy will pay out is the whole question after any claim, with the noun a payout meaning the sum itself. It splits round an object. There is a nautical sense of letting out rope steadily, which is where the phrase comes from. Gambling uses it too, and the odds determine what a bet pays out.
1phrasepay outTo hand over a large sum, especially under an insurance policy.
“The insurer refused to pay out on the claim.”
Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove
First appears in chapter 31 of A Man Called Ove.
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