noun
Uncommon
payroll
PAY-rohl
Payroll (noun) means the total amount a business pays its employees, or the list of employees and their pay. Example: “The company's payroll grew as it hired more staff.”
noun
1
The total amount a business pays its employees, or the list of employees and their pay.
"The company's payroll grew as it hired more staff."
"She works in payroll, processing everyone's wages each month."
"The small bakery keeps several people on its payroll all year round."
How to use payroll
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe employees a company pays, or the process/department that handles paying them.
Common pairings
on the payroll
payroll department
payroll tax
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Word forms
- Plural
- payrolls
- Third person singular
- payrolls
- Past tense
- payrolled
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
The company's _____ grew as it hired more staff.
Etymology
From "pay" plus "roll," referring to the original paper list (or "roll") of employees and their wages.
Synonyms
View more →
wage bill
staff pay
paysheet
Frequently asked questions
What does “payroll” mean?
The word “payroll” means the total amount a business pays its employees, or the list of employees and their pay. In plain terms, the employees a company pays, or the process/department that handles paying them.
How do you pronounce “payroll”?
“Payroll” is pronounced PAY-rohl (/ˈpeɪˌɹoʊl/ in IPA).
How do you use “payroll” in a sentence?
Here is “payroll” used in a sentence: “The company's payroll grew as it hired more staff.”
What part of speech is “payroll”?
“Payroll” is a noun.
Is “payroll” a common word?
“Payroll” is an uncommon word in modern English.
What is the difference between payroll and salary?
Payroll refers to the total amount a business pays all its employees, or the full list of employees and their pay, while salary refers to the fixed pay of a single individual employee. Payroll is a company-wide figure or record, whereas salary applies to one person's earnings.
What does it mean when someone says a company has a large payroll?
It means the total amount that company pays out to its employees is large, which usually reflects a big workforce or high individual salaries. The term describes the overall cost of paying staff rather than any single employee's pay.
Is payroll the same as a list of employees?
Payroll can refer either to the total pay a business distributes to employees or to the list of employees and their pay, so the two meanings are closely related. In both senses, payroll is tied to who is employed and what they are paid.
