base pay

American  

noun

1. pay received for a given work period, as an hour or week, but not including additional pay, as for overtime work.

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Etymology

Origin of base pay

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Shake Shack said Hook will receive an initial annual base salary of $625,000 and an annual bonus with a target of 100% of her base pay.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Hospital-based roles, for example, often come with overtime, bonuses and higher pay for night or weekend shifts that can push total earnings well above base pay.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026

U.S. employees will receive severance of 16 weeks of base pay, plus two additional weeks for every year they have been with the company, Gale added.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Brase, 58 years old, will receive an annual base salary of $1.15 million and an annual bonus with a target of 150% of his base pay, Conagra said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Between the base pay of $2.15 an hour and the obligation to share tips with the busboys and dishwashers, we’re averaging only about $7.50 an hour.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich