Paycheck Meaning
/ˈpeɪ.t͡ʃɛk/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA periodic payment, usually in the form of a paper check, received by an employee from an employer for work performed.
Sentence Examples
Recently, they have not been giving her her paycheck on time.
We don't want them to decrease our paycheck.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She received her weekly ____ from her employer after work on Friday.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She deposited her ____ directly into her savings account every two weeks without fail.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English pay English check English paycheck From pay (“wages or salary”) + check (“means of payment”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The teachers are not there to help you. Most oft them are still freelancers and the last thing they want is more competition. They are there because they need a steady paycheck and they hope to score some pussy!"
— 1991, Daniel Clowes, Art School Confidential:
"They took my whole paycheck and I know why / 'Cause I got high, 'cause I got high"
— 2001, “Because I Got High”, in Because I Got High, performed by Afroman:
"With the help of some low-end boosting, Dinklage musters a decent amount of kid-appropriate menace—although he never does explain his gift for finding chunks of ice shaped like pirate ships—but Romano and Leary mainly sound bored, droning through their lines as if they’re simultaneously texting the contractors building the additions on their houses funded by their fat sequel paychecks."
— 2012 July 12, Sam Adams, “Ice Age: Continental Drift”, in AV Club:
"We're a super sad generation / Killing time and losing our paychecks"
— 2019, “Super Sad Generation”, performed by Arlo Parks:
"Last week, TSA agents missed their first full paychecks. Some employees are still at work, with the promise of back pay when the shutdown ends. But others can't or won't forego paychecks."
— 2026 March 23, Barry Petchesky, “ICE Agents Deployed To Nation’s Swamped Airports To Stand Around And Do Nothing”, in Defector, archived from the original on 23 Mar 2026:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
She received her weekly ____ from her employer after work on Friday.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She deposited her ____ directly into her savings account every two weeks without fail.