1
a
: 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)
Romans 6:23 (Revised Standard Version)
waged; waging
: to engage in or carry on
wage war
wage a campaign
: to be in process of occurring
the riot waged for several hours—Amer. Guide Series: Md.
Amer. Guide Series: Md.Synonyms
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 WebNick Fouriezos, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
For Dermalogica’s partnership with Coffee Creek, the intention is to help women come out of prison with a few of those bases covered, namely the ability to earn a livable wage and provide support to their families.
—Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 27 Apr. 2024
According to the filing, Garcia began working with Megan in July 2018 as her personal cameraman and he was not given essential healthcare, proper wages and overtime pay.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 23 Apr. 2024
Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, filed an application in June 2022 for an H-1B visa for a worker at a $65,000 annual salary, the lowest wage category allowed under the program.
—Adriana Gomez Licon, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024
The Biden administration has argued that these agreements harm workers by lowering wages and hurt the U.S. economy by stifling entrepreneurship.
—Andrea Hsu, NPR, 23 Apr. 2024
The agency has said the proposal would raise wages by forcing companies to compete harder for talent.
—J. Edward Moreno, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
The labor market is strong, wages are growing at the bottom end of the income distribution–reversing some of the inequality of the past 40 years—and private sector investments in jobs and local communities continue to rise.
—TIME, 23 Apr. 2024
But as of 2022, the median annual wage for a U.S. wind turbine technician working in electric power was $59,890, compared with $46,310 for all occupations nationally.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Craig Gilbert, Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2024
The Ukrainian Parliament is considering a bill that would prohibit religious organisations that are controlled from a country waging armed aggression against Ukraine.
—Peter Pomerantsev, TIME, 20 Apr. 2024
Iranian decision-makers could have chosen to keep waging their conflict with Israel through existing means and practices, such as through covert action or proxies, or through a more discreet missile attack.
—Afshon Ostovar, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2024
Since its release, the two have waged an all-out meme war online.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 18 Apr. 2024
The new federal analysis punctuates an already volatile moment in America, as partisan tensions seethe ahead of a high-stakes presidential election, multiple wars are being waged abroad, and political violence has already broken out overseas.
—Josh Margolin, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2024
In the more than six months since that attack, Israel has waged war on Hamas in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have been killed, according to Palestinian officials.
—Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
Inspired by Garland’s upbringing as the son of a political cartoonist, the film opens as a coalition of states known as the Western Forces wage a multi-front campaign against the U.S. government and its fascist-leaning president (Nick Offerman).
—Elaina Patton, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
General Gilead said that Israel’s army had enough resources to fight against Iran and continue to wage war against Hamas in Gaza.
—Adam Rasgon, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
Noun
In fact, across rural America, half of adults now have a job that pays at least middle-class wages, according to a recent Georgetown University report.
—Nick Fouriezos, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
For Dermalogica’s partnership with Coffee Creek, the intention is to help women come out of prison with a few of those bases covered, namely the ability to earn a livable wage and provide support to their families.
—Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 27 Apr. 2024
According to the filing, Garcia began working with Megan in July 2018 as her personal cameraman and he was not given essential healthcare, proper wages and overtime pay.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 23 Apr. 2024
Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, filed an application in June 2022 for an H-1B visa for a worker at a $65,000 annual salary, the lowest wage category allowed under the program.
—Adriana Gomez Licon, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024
The Biden administration has argued that these agreements harm workers by lowering wages and hurt the U.S. economy by stifling entrepreneurship.
—Andrea Hsu, NPR, 23 Apr. 2024
The agency has said the proposal would raise wages by forcing companies to compete harder for talent.
—J. Edward Moreno, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
The labor market is strong, wages are growing at the bottom end of the income distribution–reversing some of the inequality of the past 40 years—and private sector investments in jobs and local communities continue to rise.
—TIME, 23 Apr. 2024
But as of 2022, the median annual wage for a U.S. wind turbine technician working in electric power was $59,890, compared with $46,310 for all occupations nationally.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Verb
Baldwin's election history The Madison Democrat has waged two Senate races and won them both decisively.
—Craig Gilbert, Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2024
The Ukrainian Parliament is considering a bill that would prohibit religious organisations that are controlled from a country waging armed aggression against Ukraine.
—Peter Pomerantsev, TIME, 20 Apr. 2024
Iranian decision-makers could have chosen to keep waging their conflict with Israel through existing means and practices, such as through covert action or proxies, or through a more discreet missile attack.
—Afshon Ostovar, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2024
Since its release, the two have waged an all-out meme war online.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 18 Apr. 2024
The new federal analysis punctuates an already volatile moment in America, as partisan tensions seethe ahead of a high-stakes presidential election, multiple wars are being waged abroad, and political violence has already broken out overseas.
—Josh Margolin, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2024
In the more than six months since that attack, Israel has waged war on Hamas in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have been killed, according to Palestinian officials.
—Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
Inspired by Garland’s upbringing as the son of a political cartoonist, the film opens as a coalition of states known as the Western Forces wage a multi-front campaign against the U.S. government and its fascist-leaning president (Nick Offerman).
—Elaina Patton, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
General Gilead said that Israel’s army had enough resources to fight against Iran and continue to wage war against Hamas in Gaza.
—Adam Rasgon, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near wage
Cite this Entry
“Wage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wage. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wage
1 of 2 verb
waged; waging
1
: to engage in or carry on
wage war
wage a campaign
2
: to be in the process of occurring
the battle waged for several hours
wage
2 of 2 noun1
: a payment for work or services usually calculated on an hourly, daily, or piecework basis
—often used in plural
2
singular or plural
: something given or received because of one's actions : reward
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