payroll

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun Accounting

n. the total amount of money a company pays to all its workers.

n. the total sum of wages and salaries paid by an employer to its staff during a specific period.

“The small business struggled to meet its monthly payroll during the slow season.”

“The chief financial officer expressed concern that the annual payroll was increasing at a faster rate than the company's net revenue.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun Accounting

n. the department in a company that handles paying salaries and taxes.

n. the administrative department or functional process responsible for calculating earnings and withholding taxes.

“If you have a question about your tax code, you should contact payroll.”

“The payroll department is currently transitioning to an automated system to reduce errors in overtime calculations.”

C2 · Proficiency Uncountable noun Informal

n. money paid secretly to people to make them do what you want.

n. a sum of money used for regular bribes or illegal payments to ensure cooperation.

“The corrupt politician had several local police officers on his payroll.”

“Investigative journalists uncovered evidence that the cartel had placed high-ranking officials on a secret payroll to ensure safe passage for their shipments.”

C1 · Advanced Technical

v. to put someone on the official list of employees so they can be paid.

v. to place an individual on a formal payroll for the purpose of salary administration.

“We need to payroll the new interns before they start work on Monday.”

“The agency was contracted to payroll the temporary staff, handling all tax obligations and insurance contributions on behalf of the client.”