pay it forward

English

Verb

pay it forward (third-person singular simple present pays it forward, present participle paying it forward, simple past and past participle paid it forward)

  1. Synonym of pay forward.
    • 2025 November 13, Kamala Thiagarajan, “If you're going to be kind to another human, today is the day to do it!”, in NPR‎[1]:
      The study authors, citing other examples of "pay it forward" kindness at fast food restaurants and their own experiments encouraging subjects to help others, write: "Why, in the absence of external sanctions and opportunities for reciprocation, do people help strangers? One possible explanation is that helping is driven by receiving or observing help. In other words, generosity towards strangers may be socially contagious."
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