wage

noun

\ˈwāj

Definition of wage

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a payment usually of money for labor or services usually according to contract and on an hourly, daily, or piecework basis —often used in plural

b wages plural : the share of the national product attributable to labor as a factor in production

2 : recompense, reward —usually used in pl. but singular or plural in construction the wages of sin is death — Romans 6:23 (Revised Standard Version)

wage

verb

waged; waging

Definition of wage (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to engage in or carry on wage war wage a campaign

intransitive verb

: to be in process of occurring the riot waged for several hours — Amer. Guide Series: Md.

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Examples of wage in a Sentence

Noun

Both of them make decent wages. The table and chairs cost two weeks' wages. The company offers competitive wages and good benefits. The company gave workers a four percent wage increase this year.

Verb

They waged a guerrilla war against the government. Local activists are waging a campaign to end homelessness in the region.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

So what if wages are low, poverty high and opportunity limited? — Jon Talton, The Seattle Times, "In America’s ‘geography of despair,’ how to help the left-behind places?," 21 Nov. 2018 Even in a unionized environment, where work tasks are similar, hourly wages are identical, and tenure dictates promotions, female workers earn $0.89 on the male-worker dollar (weekly earnings). — James Freeman, WSJ, "Broward’s Ballots," 12 Nov. 2018 As a reflection, if not a cause, of this trend, wages have been stagnant since the early 1980s. — Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, "Employers will do almost anything to find workers to fill jobs — except pay them more," 10 July 2018 After adjusting for inflation, the Labor Department reported last month that wages have essentially been flat for the past year. — Josh Boak, chicagotribune.com, "U.S. added 213,000 jobs in June; unemployment rose to 4 percent," 6 July 2018 On Thursday, the business news network tweeted: In defense of CNBC, rising wages are a problem from the point of view of employers. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Rising wages horrifies CNBC but delights everyone else.," 5 July 2018 However, George Borjas, a Harvard University economist who favors more strict immigration, told the Los Angeles Times that wages are still too low for American workers to accept farm jobs. — Sarah Gray, Fortune, "Here's How Immigration Policy Impacts Your Avocados and Other Produce," 19 June 2018 By contrast, average hourly wages have risen just 2.7 percent over the past year. — CBS News, "Why the robust economy doesn't reflect the reality for many Americans," 16 June 2018 Falling unemployment and rising wages are a good thing, but eventually higher pay forces companies to raise prices more sharply. — Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, "The economy is humming. So why do experts foresee a recession in 2020?," 11 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The modern way to wage such a fight is with chemistry. — Rob Dunn, Discover Magazine, "Our Attempts to Eradicate Insects are Just Making them Resistant to Pesticides," 16 Nov. 2018 This 6-1 vote ensures that the finance committee will continue to enjoy the strong participation of experienced members of the council and not become a place to use political appointees to wage surrogate battles in backrooms. — Keith Curry, latimes.com, "Newport Beach City Council made a trio of sound financial decisions," 14 June 2018 His primary goal is to wage the most effective legal arguments on behalf of his client and to shield his client from liability. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "Michigan State Settles With the Victims of Larry Nassar's Abuse. How Might the NCAA Respond?," 18 May 2018 Among them is photographer and Picasso model Dora Maar (Samantha Colley), a political activist during the Spanish Civil War who had been instrumental in persuading Picasso to use his art to wage war against the Fascists. — Dorothy Rabinowitz, WSJ, "‘Genius: Picasso’ Review: Great Art and Mistresses Galore," 19 Apr. 2018 Hamza has previously made public statements urging followers to wage war on western cities including Washington and Paris. — Katherine Lam, Fox News, "Bin Laden's son marries 9/11 lead hijacker's daughter, report says," 6 Aug. 2018 Today someone looking to wage holy war might do better in Africa. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "The African Terror Fight," 13 May 2018 Russia concentrated on rebuilding forces with the mobility and firepower to wage high-intensity warfare against a peer adversary. — The Economist, "Russia’s conventional forces outgun NATO near its borders," 8 Mar. 2018 But his administration is still struggling to manage a pair of smaller trade actions announced more than three months ago, casting doubt on the president's ability to wage a broader conflict. — David J. Lynch, chicagotribune.com, "Flood of U.S. companies seek relief on tariffs," 20 June 2018

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