wage slave

noun

1. a person who works for a wage, especially with total and immediate dependency on the income derived from such labor.

wage slave

noun

1. ironic,  a person dependent on a wage or salary

Other Word Forms

• wage slavery noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wage slave¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

I will imagine while writing that I am that rake who dabs cologne on his handkerchief before making sorties into the belle epoque salons of Paris, and not a wage slave who has to remind himself to wear pants for Zoom.

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“If you want to be an artist and you graduate with a ton of student loan debt, you can’t afford to be an artist, anymore,” I told her, explaining that you become a creatively stymied wage slave instead.

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One Georgia resident who has made 18 small donations to Sanders listed his occupation as a “wage slave”; another listed himself as a “slave”.

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When the protestor throws the bottle, she’s targeting a fellow wage slave who should be her ally, and he would if circumstances allowed him to simultaneously have principles and make enough money to support himself.

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“This man said he understood my singing, for while my father was working as a slave, his own father was working as a wage slave in the mills of Manchester.”

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Related Words

• blue-collar worker www.thesaurus.com
• breadwinner