What does buyoff mean?
A buyoff is a payment offered to persuade someone to give up a claim, drop a complaint, withdraw from contention, or remain silent. The word belongs chiefly to journalism, politics, and labour disputes, where it names the transaction through which a troublesome opponent is paid to disappear. Unlike a neutral compensation award, a buyoff implies cynicism: it suggests the payer is buying peace cheaply rather than addressing the real issue. A company facing a strike might be said to offer workers a buyoff instead of better conditions, and a critic silenced by a cash settlement may be described as having accepted one. The word pairs readily with adjectives such as 'generous', 'blatant', or 'political', and its rhymes — payoff, layoff, standoff — reflect the world of negotiation and confrontation it inhabits.
nounA payment made to settle a dispute, secure someone's compliance, or induce them to withdraw or stay away — often with connotations of bribery or appeasement.
- A sum paid to someone to abandon a claim, cease opposition, or keep silent, often implying bribery or appeasement.
- A settlement payment that buys an exit from a contract, dispute, or obligation.
"Critics accused the government of offering farmers a generous buyoff rather than addressing the underlying policy failure."
"The union suspected the severance cheque was less a fair package than a buyoff designed to muzzle complaints."
"He took the buyoff and quietly withdrew his candidacy before the primary."
Regular plural; typically used when discussing multiple settlements across cases or parties.
"The scandal involved a series of buyoffs stretching back over a decade."
Sometimes the cheapest way to win an argument isn't to argue — it's to write a cheque and call it a buyoff.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of buyoff
Buyoff is formed transparently within English from the verb 'buy' plus the adverb 'off', following the productive pattern seen in 'payoff' and 'layoff'. Its root, 'buy', derives from Old English 'bycgan', meaning to acquire or purchase. The compound arose in modern usage, primarily in twentieth-century American political and journalistic contexts, alongside related coinages like 'buyout' and 'buyback'. It shares this formation pattern with many verb-plus-particle nouns in English rather than descending from any single foreign source.
How buyoff is actually used
The term carries a strongly negative, cynical connotation — it suggests money used to suppress dissent or paper over a problem rather than resolve it honestly. It appears mostly in journalism and political commentary about corruption, strikes, and disputed settlements.
Easily confused with buyoff
A 'payoff' is any final payment or return on an investment (or slang for a bribe), while a 'buyoff' specifically denotes money given to make someone go away or stop resisting.
A 'buyout' is the purchase of a controlling stake in a company or a person's contractual freedom, whereas a 'buyoff' is a smaller inducement to secure withdrawal or silence.