minimum wage

noun

1

: living wage

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

Sam's Club rival Costco Wholesale in July raised its minimum wage for U.S. workers to $19.50 per hour. —Kate Gibson, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2024

Sam’s Club, the membership club arm of Walmart, will increase its minimum wage to $16 starting in November from $15 an hour. —Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 17 Sep. 2024

Mesa man arrested on suspicion of manslaughter Economists weigh impacts of Glendale's minimum wage measure for hospitality workers Saul Bal was arrested on suspicion of the shooting after an hours-long manhunt. —Lauren De Young, The Arizona Republic, 16 Sep. 2024

Students will earn at least the federal minimum wage (and much more in some cases). —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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