wage

1 of 2

noun

1
a
: a payment usually of money for labor or services usually according to contract and on an hourly, daily, or piecework basis
often used in plural
b
wages plural : the share of the national product attributable to labor as a factor in production
2
: recompense, reward
usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction
the wages of sin is deathRomans 6:23 (Revised Standard Version)
wageless adjective

wage

2 of 2

verb

waged; waging

transitive verb

: to engage in or carry on
wage war
wage a campaign

intransitive verb

: to be in process of occurring
the riot waged for several hoursAmer. Guide Series: Md.

Examples of wage in a Sentence

Noun Both of them make decent wages. The table and chairs cost two weeks' wages. The company offers competitive wages and good benefits. The company gave workers a four percent wage increase this year. Verb They waged a guerrilla war against the government. Local activists are waging a campaign to end homelessness in the region.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Before the Bell: Employment data for February came in hotter than expected, but there was some weakness in wage growth and December and January numbers were both revised lower. Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 By the end of the year, the research firm expects overall inflation to edge down to 2.9% while the core reading falls to 3.1% as wage growth eases only gradually. USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2024 With December and January job gains revised sharply down, wage growth easing and the unemployment rate up, the Fed's policymakers aren't likely to worry about an overheating economy. Paul Wiseman, Quartz, 9 Mar. 2024 This could be tariffs on Chinese imports put by the Trump administration, the soaring price of shipping during the pandemic supply-chain crisis, higher wages to attract workers or bad harvests of specific ingredients like cocoa. Alina Selyukh, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024 The deceleration in hiring, though, is being welcomed by the Federal Reserve, which might otherwise worry that a too-hot job market would force companies to sharply raise wages and prices and re-ignite inflation. Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 No official statistics on the average wages paid to workers hired in January in non-tech sectors are available. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 Although the number of workers involved in the labor action is small, the accusations of wage theft illustrate a pervasive problem in restaurant and other low-wage industries, labor advocates say. Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 In an effort to improve prison conditions and attract more staff, state lawmakers passed a pay raise for state employees last summer that boosted starting wages for corrections officers to $33 an hour. Sophia Voight, Journal Sentinel, 6 Mar. 2024
Verb
His classic book, Winning Ugly, is a field manual for waging mental warfare on the court. Abby Aguirre, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024 While the government’s Office of War Information waged its own fight against rumors, a grassroots movement took hold across the country to stop gossip at its source. Greg Daugherty, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Mar. 2024 The labor market remains incredibly resilient, with unemployment at historic lows and wage inflation elevated. Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 This encompasses various legal disputes related to taxes, from audits and appeals to wage garnishments and back taxes. Bryce Welker, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024 There’s the potential costs to consider as well as the corrosive effect of waging elections without end. Mark Z. Barabak, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 Democracies and autocracies are waging a global battle, principally through military, political, economic, and diplomatic means. Suzanne Nossel, Foreign Affairs, 29 Feb. 2024 This is a fight the league can’t win and shouldn’t even be waging. Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024 This will keep employee motivation high while also giving companies control over variable expenses that are vulnerable to wage inflation. Expert Panel®, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word '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

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, pledge, recompense, from Anglo-French wage, gage, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wetti pledge — more at wed

Verb

Middle English, to offer surety, put up as a stake, hire, from Anglo-French *wager, gager, from wage

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of wage was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near wage

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

wage

1 of 2 verb
waged; waging
1
: to engage in or carry on
wage war
wage a campaign
2
: to be in the process of occurring
the battle waged for several hours

wage

2 of 2 noun
1
: a payment for work or services usually calculated on an hourly, daily, or piecework basis
often used in plural
2
singular or plural : something given or received because of one's actions : reward

Legal Definition

wage

noun
1
: a payment usually of money for labor or services usually according to a contract and on an hourly, daily, or piecework basis
often used in pl.
2
plural : the share of the national product attributable to labor as a factor in production

More from Merriam-Webster on wage

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