1
: a paymaster's or employer's list of those entitled to pay and of the amounts due to each
2
: the sum necessary for distribution to those on a payroll
also
: the money to be distributed
Examples of payroll in a Sentence
They cut him from their payroll.
He's the manager of a baseball team with a $50 million payroll.
Businesses are keeping their payrolls low by embracing new technologies.
Recent Examples on the Web
People can use the network for remittances and global payroll, among other use cases.
—
Carlos Garcia, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
Analysts based their findings on each company's labor costs alongside payroll exposure to AI automation.
—Itzel Franco, CNBC, 14 Jan. 2026
That’s roughly $44 million less than last season’s payroll, $47 million below next season’s luxury tax line and middle-of-the-pack leaguewide.
—Shawn McFarland, Dallas Morning News, 14 Jan. 2026
With California facing an unexpectedly large budget problem last May, the Newsom administration negotiated new agreements with all 21 of the state’s bargaining units to reduce the state’s payroll costs.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for payroll
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Cite this Entry
“Payroll.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/payroll. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
Kids Definition
payroll
noun
pay·roll
ˈpā-ˌrōl 
1
: a list of persons entitled to receive pay with the amounts due to each
2
: the amount of money necessary to pay those on a payroll
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