wage

American  

[wayj] / weɪdʒ /

noun

• wages
  plural

1. Often wages. money that is paid or received for work or services, as by the hour, day, or week.

   Synonyms:

   remuneration, compensation, emolument, earnings

2. Economics. Usually wages. the share of the products of industry received by labor for its work (as distinct from the share going to capital).

3. (used with a singular or plural verb) Usually wages. recompense or return.

   The wages of sin is death.

4. Obsolete. a pledge or security.

---

verb (used with object)

• wages,
  present (3rd person singular)
• waged,
  past participle,  past
• waging
  present participle

1. to carry on (a battle, war, conflict, argument, etc.).

   to wage war against a nation.

   Synonyms:

   prosecute, undertake

2. Chiefly British Dialect. to hire.

3. Obsolete.

   1. to stake or wager.

   2. to pledge.

verb (used without object)

• wages,
  present (3rd person singular)
• waged,
  past participle,  past
• waging
  present participle

1. Obsolete. to contend; struggle.

wage British  

/ weɪdʒ /

noun

1. 1. (often plural) payment in return for work or services, esp that made to workmen on a daily, hourly, weekly, or piece-work basis Compare salary

   2. ( as modifier )

      wage freeze

2. (plural) economics the portion of the national income accruing to labour as earned income, as contrasted with the unearned income accruing to capital in the form of rent, interest, and dividends

3. (often plural) recompense, return, or yield

4. an obsolete word for pledge

---

verb

1. to engage in

2. obsolete to pledge or wager

3. archaic another word for hire hire

Synonym Usage

See pay ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underwage
  noun
• wagelessness
  noun
• wageless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wages
  plural

Participles

• waging
  present
• waged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• wage
  simple
• wages
  simple
• have waged
  perfect
• has waged
  perfect
• am waging
  progressive
• are waging
  progressive
• is waging
  progressive
• have been waging
  perfect progressive
• has been waging
  perfect progressive

Past

• waged
  simple
• had waged
  perfect
• was waging
  progressive
• were waging
  progressive
• had been waging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will wage
  simple
• will have waged
  perfect
• will be waging
  progressive
• will have been waging
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of wage

First recorded in 1275–1325; (noun) Middle English: “pledge, security,” from Anglo-French; Old French guage gage ¹, from unattested Vulgar Latin wadium, from Germanic ( see wed); (verb) Middle English wagen “to pledge,” from Anglo-French wagier; Old French guagier, from unattested Vulgar Latin wadiāre, derivative of wadium

---

Explanation

If your job pays a good wage, it means that you earn a lot of money for the hard work you do. If you're not happy with your wage, you might have to wage war on your boss. Wage is one of those words whose verb and noun forms have entirely different meanings. A worker's wage is how much money she makes. But when you wage something, you carry it out: for example, a warmonger is someone whose primary goal is to wage wars. The word is of Germanic origin, and it's related to both gage and wed, with their underlying meanings of "to pledge."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wage wages waged waging

The minimum wage increase in June 2027 could further raise labor costs, potentially reducing industry earnings by 4% in 2027 and 7% in 2028, he reckons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Firms say higher rates limit their ability to offer new jobs and wage rises.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

The wage board, comprising representatives of employers and workers, was set up by the government on Sunday to negotiate a pay rise.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

It has since recovered some, suggesting the slowdown in the labor market and wage growth has stabilized.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026

It didn’t matter that we were all free, that Momma made sure to pay everyone a small wage each week for their hard work.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

There are few signs of a pickup in wages or the second-round effects officials wish to contain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

It applies only to the first $184,500 of wages and self-employment income this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

"We need to prove we can get stuff done, actually deliver answers to their concerns and questions about low wages and rising costs in particular," US Senator Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, told the BBC.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

"Once operational, the facilities are projected to sustain more than 9,000 local jobs per year, with wages averaging 45 percent above the national median," it added.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

If finishing college and becoming an artist had been a dream for my father, he quickly redirected his hopes, using his wages to help pay for his younger brother’s degree in architecture instead.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Argentina and the UK waged a brief but bitter war over the territory in 1982.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

The U.S. has waged a vigorous campaign to shake its hold and restore freedom of navigation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Turek could also benefit from the strong campaign being waged by gubernatorial front-runner Rob Sand, who tops the Democratic ticket.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

Still, even trade wars waged for silly reasons can have real consequences.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

For two, perhaps three seconds, a terrific battle of minds for status and authority was waged between a boy and a tiger.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

As evidence, he invokes, throughout the book, numerous instances of one nation waging war on another, or assisting U.S. forces against rival tribes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Dan J. Sullivan Jr.’s sudden interest in high office has created a conundrum for 61-year-old Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, who is waging a close battle with Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

While Karadzic was the ideologue and Milosevic the wily politician, Mladic was the soldier and his metier was waging war.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

"We're not waging any kind of "battle" against Spain; we're simply carefully controlling arrivals," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

But when they began to fight on land, they abandoned this successful strategy and followed the usual practices of waging war in Italy.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---