minimum wage

noun

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

The government raised the increment from 5 percent following labor unrest and said the higher rate would continue until it was revalued or superseded by a new minimum wage. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 24 Aug. 2026

About three-quarters of the 53-man roster will be guys on one-year contacts, many at near NFL minimum wage, a league record. — Miami Herald, 23 Aug. 2026

To Singh, that’s a powerful opportunity for his city’s poorer residents who may be struggling to find even minimum wage jobs. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026

Nixon recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America, and her platform includes Medicare for all, universal childcare and raising the federal minimum wage to $25. — Emily R. Condon, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for minimum wage

• alienage
• age
• gauge
• phage
• plage
• rage
• stage
• assuage
• backstage
• bocage
• downstage
• engage

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