minimum wage

noun

1
2
: the lowest wage paid or permitted to be paid
specifically : a wage fixed by legal authority or by contract as the least that may be paid either to employed persons generally or to a particular category of employed persons

Examples of minimum wage in a Sentence

Congress will vote on a bill to raise the minimum wage.
Recent Examples on the Web The formula intends to ensure drivers are paid the Minneapolis minimum wage equivalent of $15.57 an hour. Trisha Ahmed, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 And raise the federal minimum wage because every worker has the right to earn a decent living! USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2024 On Tuesday, the Florida Senate voted to remove language from the bill that would have blocked local governments from requiring their contractors to pay employees anything above the state’s minimum wage. Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024 All Daru workers make a minimum wage of $22 an hour, said Dante Datta, the general manager. Priya Krishna, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Delegates also use a system of proposals to publicly raise pet issues, with policy solutions ranging from practical ideas, such as reforms to parental leave or raising minimum wages for gig workers, to nationalist grandstanding over issues like cutting English lessons from the school curriculum. Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2024 Did Panera Bread get an exemption from the $20 minimum wage law? Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024 At issue is an exemption for bakery restaurants that produce and sell bread in Assembly bills 257 and 1228, which created a fast food council to enact worker protections and set a $20-per-hour minimum wage for employees at qualifying establishments. Lindsey Holden, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2024 La Canasta grocery stores owed $92,000 in back wages to 18 workers for failing to pay minimum wage. The Indianapolis Star, 23 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'minimum wage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of minimum wage was in 1860

Dictionary Entries Near minimum wage

Cite this Entry

“Minimum wage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minimum%20wage. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

minimum wage

noun
: a wage fixed (as by law) as the least that may be paid to employed persons

Legal Definition

minimum wage

noun
: a wage fixed by contract or especially by law as the least that may be paid either to employees generally or to a particular category of employees compare scale

More from Merriam-Webster on minimum wage

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