minimum wage

noun

1
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Cockburn said Saudi Arabia would need a vast number of migrant workers to deliver its World Cup ambitions in a country which has neither established a minimum wage for non-citizens nor introduced measures to prevent worker deaths. Reuters, NBC News, 11 Nov. 2024 Sign up Other tax rises include a rise in capital gains tax from 10% to 18% for basic rate taxpayers and 20% to 24% for higher earners, as well as a national insurance hike for employers and a higher national minimum wage. Marc Shoffman, theweek, 6 Nov. 2024 Voters in Orange County weighed in on several key races that ended with the close of polls Tuesday, Nov. 5, from a statewide ballot measure about the minimum wage to congressional races that could determine control of the House of Representatives to local races throughout the county. Staff Report, Orange County Register, 5 Nov. 2024 Early results showed Glendale voters widely rejecting Proposition 499, which sought to give hospitality workers a $20-an-hour minimum wage. Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for minimum wage 

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of minimum wage was in 1860

Dictionary Entries Near minimum wage

Cite this Entry

“Minimum wage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minimum%20wage. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on minimum wage

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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