surplus value

noun

: the difference in Marxist theory between the value of work done or of commodities produced by labor and the usually subsistence wages paid by the employer

Examples of surplus value in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There is only a 30 percent probability of Connor offering surplus value at that price; there’s even a chance Connor’s game falls off precipitously in his mid-30s. —Murat Ates, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025

In both cases, the purchase of labor-power is intended for production of surplus value by means of the production of commodities. —Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025

Not with a thoughtful plan to distribute surplus value to all of humanity but with Elon Musk purchasing the Atlantic Ocean. —Reuven Perlman, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025

How did the economies of these systems work (when people weren’t being killed or starved to death)? In Marx’s view of capitalism, the capitalists captured a surplus value created by workers. —John C. Goodman, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for surplus value

• eigenvalue
• undervalue