Literal meaning (referring to valuable ore):
* After weeks of digging, the miners finally hit pay dirt and discovered a vein of gold.
* The prospector searched for years before finding pay dirt in the form of a diamond-rich deposit.
Figurative meaning (referring to something valuable or successful):
* The detective finally cracked the case and found the evidence he needed - pay dirt!
* After months of research, the scientist finally stumbled upon pay dirt with a groundbreaking discovery.
* The entrepreneur's new app was pay dirt, making millions in downloads within the first week.
* My grandmother's attic was pay dirt for antique furniture collectors.
Informal/Humorous:
* "I finally finished cleaning out the garage," she said, "and guess what? Pay dirt! I found my old skateboard!"
* "I spent all day searching for my lost keys, and guess what? Pay dirt! They were in my coat pocket the whole time!"
In a sentence using a metaphor:
* The author's latest book was pure pay dirt, selling out in its first printing and receiving rave reviews.