minimum wage

noun

Definition of minimum wage

1 : living wage

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

In New York, while the city was considering a minimum wage for rideshare drivers and a temporary cap on rideshare vehicles, Uber spent $876,000 lobbying in the city from Jan. 2018 to June 2018. — Juliana Feliciano Reyes, https://www.inquirer.com, "Could Pa. legislate ride-share drivers’ rights? Politicians are hosting a hearing," 6 June 2019 If the work is performed, they are supposed to get paid minimum wage for their work. — Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, "“He never paid us a cent”—man suing Tesla has his own lawsuit-filled past," 31 Oct. 2018 The bill also approved a measure that will allow New York City to be the first to require apps including Uber, Lyft, Juno, and Via to pay their drivers a minimum wage. — Meredith Carey, Condé Nast Traveler, "New York City Votes to Cap Number of Ubers, Lyfts," 8 Aug. 2018 In the 2018 fiscal year, commissioners raised the minimum wage for county employees from $13.75 to $14.25. — Jasper Scherer, San Antonio Express-News, "Bexar commissioners OK salary increase, seek military transition center bids," 10 July 2018 Both lawsuits accuse the Texans of failing to pay minimum wage and overtime for hours spent on the job, and both allege other workplace violations. — David Barron, Houston Chronicle, "Another former Texans cheerleader joins lawsuit against team," 22 June 2018 One bill reworks the state’s prevailing wage law, which sets a minimum wage for workers on public construction projects, like roads, schools, jails and other government projects. — Jason Hancock, Allison Kite And Tessa Weinberg, kansascity, "GOP lawmakers mark victories in 2018 session despite cloud cast by Greitens’ scandals | The Kansas City Star," 18 May 2018 Her parents have always worked minimum wage jobs to support the family. — Nancy Dahlberg, miamiherald, "This online platform links minority small businesses with consumers. The key is quality. | Miami Herald," 3 May 2018 During a bond court hearing Sunday, an assistant public defender said the McLeod works a minimum wage job at a McDonald’s restaurant and did not have a criminal record. — Linda Trischitta, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Witnesses lead cops to hit-run driver who injured child, police say," 23 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'minimum wage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about minimum wage

Dictionary Entries near minimum wage

minimum premium

minimum rate

minimum security prison

Statistics for minimum wage

Last Updated

16 Jun 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for minimum wage

The first known use of minimum wage was in 1860

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for minimum wage

minimum wage

noun

Financial Definition of minimum wage

What It Is

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly amount an employer may legally pay an employee.

How It Works

If an employer compensates employees on an hourly basis, that employer must pay the employee no less than the minimum wage. In the United States, the minimum wage is set by the federal government. The government periodically modifies the minimum wage to reflect rises in the general price level and cost of living.

Why It Matters

In the labor market, wages rise and fall depending on the supply and demand for labor. Though it restricts economic efficiency, the argument in support of minimum wage laws is that it curbs employers' attempts to exploit workers and ensures that employees are compensated at a livable rate.

Source: Investing Answers

minimum wage

noun

English Language Learners Definition of minimum wage

: an amount of money that is the least amount of money per hour that workers must be paid according to the law

See the full definition for minimum wage in the English Language Learners Dictionary

minimum wage

noun

Legal Definition of minimum wage

: 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