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 plural 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 Phrases Containing wage Learn More About wage

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. See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Mississippi is one of the poorest states, and people in low-wage jobs often don’t receive health insurance. — Emily Wagster Pettus And Leah Willingham, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 May 2022 Mississippi is one of the poorest states, and people in low-wage jobs often don’t receive health insurance. — Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2022 The woman has a 1-year-old and 5-year-old, works at a low-wage job during the day and attends classes online. — New York Times, 4 May 2022 After two years of a pandemic that exposed the grueling life of essential workers and the social justice issues that exacerbate challenges faced by low-wage households, labor is having a moment. — Harry C. Katz, Fortune, 2 May 2022 Some hold white collar jobs and others work in low-wage service sectors. — Nicole Chavez And Priya Krishnakumar, CNN, 1 May 2022 But not everyone is weathering the economic storm as well, thanks to poverty-wage jobs, health crises and other systemic obstacles. — Washington Post, 28 Apr. 2022 Placing themselves in their employees' shoes, business operators should ask whether an increase in hourly pay for low-wage employees is sufficient to create a competitive edge when all operators can easily do the same thing. — Mark Heymann, Forbes, 27 Apr. 2022 But those jobs eventually left the area, replaced by low-wage jobs. — Jordyn Noennig, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Every major antiwar movement in recent memory has included people who became too sympathetic to the regime the U.S. sought to wage war against. — W. James Antle Iii, The Week, 24 Feb. 2022 An all-arms organization of volunteers, the average group is designed to wage high-intensity combat against a modern, mechanized adversary. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 24 Feb. 2022 Those authorities added that the Kremlin was using the malware to wage stealthy hacks of its adversaries. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 6 Apr. 2022 Among the responsibilities of those who wage war, everywhere in the world, is the suffering inflicted on civilians who are forced to flee their homes. — NBC News, 20 Mar. 2022 Among the responsibilities of those who wage war, everywhere in the world, is the suffering inflicted on civilians who are forced to flee their homes. — Bloomberg.com, 20 Mar. 2022 The problem is, for all the good CEQA has done, claims have grown for years that it has been abused to wage lawsuits to block worthy projects and extract unrealistic conditions. — San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2022 Such deployments would also complicate Washington's desire to pivot its military might to Asia to wage a burgeoning new Cold War-style conflict against a rising superpower, China. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, 22 Feb. 2022 Agrippa had experience in precisely the things that were needed [to wage] a naval campaign. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 2 Apr. 2022 See More

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.