foot the bill
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Be responsible for paying for something.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Manufacturers would be prepared to foot the bill if testing became law.
‘ Look, Rune, you footed the bill for yesterday's entertainment.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Equivalents & related
Common questions
What does “foot the bill” mean?
Be responsible for paying for something.
Is “foot the bill” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“bao sân” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.