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

Leven has been more resistant to another common industry headwind — Denver’s rising minimum wage, Lygizos said. —Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026

Training through labor unions is free, and students get paid well over the minimum wage to work while completing their studies. —Claire Rafford, IndyStar, 6 Jan. 2026

His past work includes helping create the city's Department of Transportation and supporting a $15-an-hour minimum wage for city employees. —Christopher Harris, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026

The fire tax proposal comes a few weeks after the city clerk cleared the way for another ballot petition — this one hiking the city’s minimum wage to $25 per hour. —David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 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