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.

Other Words from wage Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about wage

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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

Image Seven major restaurant chains, including Arby’s, Carl’s Jr., McDonald’s and Jimmy John’s, agreed to drop a hiring practice that critics say may be keeping tens of thousands of fast-food workers locked in low-wage jobs. — Rachel Abrams, New York Times, "7 Fast-Food Chains to End ‘No Poach’ Deals That Lock Down Low-Wage Workers," 12 July 2018 Being a landlord of a property with low-wage renters has its challenges, including dealing with some tenants with disabilities and mental health issues. — Lynn Horsley, kansascity, "JoCo agency gave low-income residents a lifeline. Now it's shutting down," 1 July 2018 For The Guardian, Gethin Chamberlain examines the enormous physical and psychological toll that Kindle and speaker production takes on low-wage Chinese workers. — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, "How Amazon Exploits Chinese Workers to Crank Out Its Products," 13 June 2018 There is still some low-wage component manufacturing and assembly, but the city is now known primarily for its engineering talent and creativity. — Andrew Selee, Smithsonian, "How Guadalajara Reinvented Itself as a Technology Hub," 13 June 2018 Many economists argue that the relationship has made both economies stronger and helped many US companies fend off competition from low-wage countries in Asia while keeping prices lower for US consumers. — The Christian Science Monitor, "Mexico’s big moment – and one for the US, too," 4 June 2018 Stand with working families by paying all your employees a living wage and making health care a right, not a privilege. — Stephen Sorace, Fox News, "Bernie Sanders' Disney rhetoric raises questions about his 'worker advocate' credentials," 3 June 2018 People can’t securely raise a family on a minimum-wage job. — Marcella Bombardieri, The Atlantic, "One College's Struggle to Get Poor Students Through School," 30 May 2018 Meanwhile, most of the employment opportunities at Grand Canyon West are minimum-wage service jobs. — Annette Mcgivney, Outside Online, "300 Flights Through the Grand Canyon's Helicopter Alley," 24 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Moreover, strong jobs growth in America last month was more of a spur to the labour supply than to wage inflation. — The Economist, "Even stockmarket bulls are more cautious than at the start of the year," 12 July 2018 Senators will be seeking access to Kavanaugh’s writings and correspondence, reams of documents that will take weeks to compile and even longer to review, giving opponents ample opportunity to wage a political battle. — Lisa Mascaro, The Seattle Times, "Emotions high as Kavanaugh begins fight for confirmation," 10 July 2018 The Corker-Kaine bill flips this provision on its head, allowing the president to decide whether to wage war against groups and in countries not named in the AUMF. — Elizabeth Goitein, Fortune, "Congress Is About to Decide Whether to Give Trump More or Less Power to Expand Wars," 4 June 2018 But in a more fractured electoral landscape, politicians have bigger incentives to wage largely symbolic battles. — The Economist, "How policy debates in Europe become untethered from reality," 12 July 2018 Since the 2016 election, the president’s declarations about his readiness to wage a trade war have prompted heavy users of steel — foreign and domestic — to look into alternative supply lines. — Patricia Cohen, New York Times, "Tariffs? Time for a Plan B: ‘Gobble Up Every Bit of Material That I Can’," 5 July 2018 To date, he’s pumped more than $1.5 million of his own money into his campaign and raised another $400,000, using the cash not only to run TV ads but also to wage a legal battle to try to keep Raila off the ballot. — Hal Dardick, chicagotribune.com, "Contrasts stark, stakes high in Cook County assessor race," 16 Mar. 2018 This point was once obvious to many of the people eagerly hiding behind these children to wage a political battle. — Anchorage Daily News, "The child soldiers of the gun-control war," 25 Feb. 2018 Attorney General Jeff Sessions has decided to wage the ideological battle articulated by activists like D’Souza and Kirk. — Alexander Nazaryan, Newsweek, "What Is College Good For? Absolutely Nothing, Say Republicans (and Some Democrats)," 1 Feb. 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.