pay one's dues

Verb

pay one's dues (third-person singular simple present pays one's dues, present participle paying one's dues, simple past and past participle paid one's dues)

1. To outlay money which is owed as a membership fee or price of admission.
   • The carrier to Casterbridge came up as Edward stepped into the road, and jumped down from the van to pay toll. . . . The carrier paid his dues.1871, Thomas Hardy, chapter 8, in Desperate Remedies
2. (idiomatic) To acquire status or to earn the right to enjoy certain benefits, especially through lengthy experience, hardship, or service to an organization.
   • Everybody wanna know / Why I'm singing the blues / Yes, I've been around a long time / People, I've paid my dues1969, B.B. King, D. Clark, “Why I Sing the Blues”, performed by B.B. King
   • [S]he spent some time paying her dues at entry-level jobs.2005 August 7, Jeff Leeds, “A Money Scandal That's Rocking Hip-Hop”, in New York Times, retrieved 17 Jul 2013