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

In 2007, workers agreed to pay new employees lower wages in order to keep the plant open. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "GM's Lordstown Chevy Cruze Plant Closes Amidst Protests," 7 Mar. 2019 One is that workers’ ability to negotiate wage increases has weakened. — Paul Kiernan, WSJ, "Despite Tight Job Market, Labor Force’s Income Is Squeezed," 23 Feb. 2019 The outcome largely will hinge on struggling working-class families like those living here in Los Reyes Acaquilpan, where many say their most pressing concerns are public security, better wages and a decent education for their children. — Dudley Althaus, San Antonio Express-News, "Appealing to populists, Lopez Obrador on verge of winning Mexico’s presidency," 22 June 2018 Last week, teachers in Denver ended a three-day walkout after reaching a tentative deal raising their wages. — Jocelyn Gecker, The Seattle Times, "Oakland teachers to walk off the job Thursday," 20 Feb. 2019 Ever since Bezos bought the Post for $250 million in 2013, the guild has sparred with him over matters like wages and retirement plans. — Rose Minutaglio, Town & Country, "Washington Post Staffers Weren't Afraid to Call Out Jeff Bezos on the Paper's Pricey Super Bowl Ad," 4 Feb. 2019 Shortly after her primary win, while still working as the community outreach and development director at Detroit’s Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, Tlaib got arrested during a worker protest for better wages. — Eslah Attar, Glamour, "Rashida Tlaib Is Determined to Change Congress," 13 Dec. 2018 Those wage gains were higher as recently as early 2009. — Christopher Rugaber, The Seattle Times, "AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s speech exaggerates border peril," 6 Feb. 2019 Both women have been seen standing in solidarity with the people of Standing Rock, protesting big banks, campaigning for fair wages for restaurant workers, and walking in the Women's March together. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Looking Back at Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin's Decades-Long Friendship," 3 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The leader of the chamber's Democrats fired back, demanding that McConnell apologize to Ford for his assertion that Democrats are using the allegations to wage a smear campaign against the nominee. — Andrew O'reilly, Fox News, "Trump echoes Limbaugh warning to GOP to approve Kavanaugh or face midterm fury," 25 Sep. 2018 The officials said Russia continues to wage a campaign to disrupt American democracy ahead of the 2018 midterms, though those operations are not yet on the scale seen in the 2016 election. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "Top officials are warning of Russian hacking. Trump hasn’t joined them.," 3 Aug. 2018 Chinese, North Korean and Russian leaders realized that cyber tools allowed them to wage asymmetrical attacks. — Mara Hvistendahl, WSJ, "‘Dawn of the Code War’ Review: The Cyber Threat Reconsidered," 3 Dec. 2018 The quagmire has deepened of late, with the Taliban continuing to wage attacks on Afghan and allied troops. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "Trump will reportedly remove 7,000 troops from Afghanistan," 21 Dec. 2018 Though severely weakened, Islamic State continues to wage an insurgency from remote hide-outs in Iraq, complicating efforts to reach and excavate some graves. — Isabel Coles, WSJ, "Syria Unearths ISIS Mass Graves Near Iraqi Border," 13 Dec. 2018 Without the ability to file for bankruptcy, people can lose paycheck money to wage garnishment orders, cutting into already tight budgets, said Latife Neu, a bankruptcy lawyer. — Peter Nicholas, WSJ, "Tax Refunds Will Be Paid During Shutdown, White House Says," 7 Jan. 2019 Warfare, whether real or fictional, is really about the individuals who wage it, and ultimately, that's what Hunter Killer gets right. — Alex Hollings, Popular Mechanics, "What 'Hunter Killer' Gets Right About Submarine Warfare," 7 Nov. 2018 President Donald Trump would have broad authority to wage war against terrorists across the globe under a new proposal being crafted in the Senate — though Congress would win some key checks on his power. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "What firing Mueller would mean for the GOP," 10 Apr. 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.