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Language Foundation

pay as you go

Pay as you go is a type of mobile phone service that you pay for in advance and then use until the paid credit is used up, instead of paying a regular monthly charge.

In plain English

You put money onto the mobile service before using it. That prepaid credit is then reduced as the service is used, until it runs out. It is not a service with a regular monthly charge.

In context

Here, "pay as you go" identifies a mobile service type where use comes out of credit paid in advance instead of a regular monthly charge.

Situation
Choosing mobile plans, allowances, roaming, fair-use, and add-ons
What it communicates
classifies a mobile service type in the plan selector.

Meaning limits

The term by itself does not tell you how much credit has been added or how long that credit will last.

Examples

“He stayed on pay as you go because he preferred topping up credit to paying a regular monthly charge.”

Core meaning

“With pay as you go, each text came off the credit already on her phone.”

In context

  • prepaid mobile service Near Synonym

    Both refer to mobile phone service paid for in advance from stored credit.

  • mobile phone service Broader Term

    Pay as you go is one kind of mobile phone service.