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Prepositions after adjectives

Paid for or paid up

Paid for and paid up have different meanings. Paid for means purchased or covered financially. Paid up means all required payments have been completed.

Quick answer

What is the difference between paid for and paid up?

Use paid for when something has been bought or financed. Use paid up when a person or account has no money owed.

The repairs are fully paid for by insurance.
All members must be paid up by June.
The tickets were already paid for online.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
paid for + item

Describing something that has been purchased

Use paid for to show that the cost of something has been covered.

Dinner was paid for by the company.
The course has been paid for in advance.
2
paid up + member/account

Describing completed payments

Use paid up when no money is owed on fees, dues, or accounts.

She is a fully paid up club member.
All tenants must be paid up before renewal.
3
fully paid for

Adding emphasis to completed payment

Fully paid for stresses that the entire amount has been covered.

The car is fully paid for now.
Their holiday was fully paid for by prize money.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
paid for
The laptop is already paid for.
The cost has been covered.
paid up
All subscribers must be paid up.
No money is owed.
paid up to
She is paid up to December.
Payments are completed until a stated time.
paid for by
The project was paid for by donations.
Shows who provided the money.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using paid up for purchases

Paid up is about owing no money, not about buying a specific item.

✕ The sofa is paid up. ✓ The sofa is paid for.

Using paid for for membership status

Paid for does not normally describe dues or account status.

✕ All members are paid for. ✓ All members are paid up.

Forgetting the object after paid for

Paid for usually refers to a thing or service.

✕ The bill is paid. ✓ The bill is paid for.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The hotel room was already ___ online.
2. You must be ___ before joining the event.
3. She is paid up ___ next March.

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Frequently asked questions

Can paid up describe a person?

Yes. A person can be paid up if they have paid all fees or dues.

Is paid for always about money?

Usually yes. It refers to something whose cost has been covered.

Can something be fully paid up?

This is uncommon for objects. Fully paid for is more natural for purchases.

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