bear (a cost or penalty), in recompense for some action; "You'll pay for this!"; "She had to pay the penalty for speaking out rashly"; "You'll pay for this opinion later"
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services; "I paid four dollars for this sandwich"; "Pay the waitress, please"
discharge or settle; "pay a debt"; "pay an obligation"
do or give something to somebody in return; "Does she pay you for the work you are doing?"
make a compensation for; "a favor that cannot be paid back"
a Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer; according to legend an Austrian governor compelled him to shoot an apple from his son's head with his crossbow (which he did successfully without mishap)
discern or comprehend; "He could tell that she was unhappy"
let something be known; "Tell them that you will be late"
narrate or give a detailed account of; "Tell what happened"; "The father told a story to his child"
give evidence; "he was telling on all his former colleague"
(with `in') guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child; "my fate is in your hands"; "too much power in the president's hands"; "your guests are now in my custody"; "the mother was awarded custody of the children"
fail to win; "We lost the battle but we won the war"
suffer the loss of a person through death or removal; "She lost her husband in the war"; "The couple that wanted to adopt the child lost her when the biological parents claimed her"
allow to go out of sight; "The detective lost the man he was shadowing after he had to stop at a red light"
miss from one's possessions; lose sight of; "I've lost my glasses again!"
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense; "She lost her purse when she left it unattended on her seat"
fail to get or obtain; "I lost the opportunity to spend a year abroad"
fail to make money in a business; make a loss or fail to profit; "I lost thousands of dollars on that bad investment!"; "The company turned a loss after the first year"
enthusiastic approval; "the book met with modest acclaim"; "he acknowledged the plaudits of the crowd"; "they gave him more eclat than he really deserved"
praise vociferously; "The critics hailed the young pianist as a new Rubinstein"
formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs"