pay out

pay out idiom
  1. Distribute money, disburse, as in He paid out the full amount. [Mid-1800s]
  2. Let out a rope by slackening, as in She paid out the rope until it was long enough to tie the canoe onto the car. This nautical expression dates from the late 1700s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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