wage slave

noun

: a person dependent on wages or a salary for a livelihood

Examples of wage slave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Proslavery propaganda in the antebellum South insisted that Northern wage slaves were worse off than Southern chattel slaves. Sarah Churchwell, The New York Review of Books, 11 June 2019

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

1882, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wage slave was in 1882

Dictionary Entries Near wage slave

Cite this Entry

“Wage slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wage%20slave. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

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