living wage

noun

1. a wage on which it is possible for a wage earner or an individual and their family to live at least according to minimum customary standards.

living wage

noun

1. a wage adequate to permit a wage earner to live and support a family in reasonable comfort

Word History and Origins

Origin of living wage¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

The yearly income for this wage is $31,200 a year before taxes — an amount that still puts some below the living wage in many parts of the country, economists have said.

From Washington Post

I was barely making a living wage, so keeping my job was critical.

From Eater

Earning a living wage and not being desperate and exhausted all the time from working multiple jobs also makes people happier and healthier.

From Vox

So, you don’t need a real living wage, and that still colors how badly teachers get paid now.

From Time

Amazon Prime shoppers need to get as many orders as they can in a day to make a living wage.

From Eater

So you were consistently against helping people here in Kentucky getting a living wage?

From The Daily Beast

The case for a living wage is economically and ethically powerful if it is made by working poor who genuinely need a living wage.

From The Daily Beast

A former baseball player sues for a minor league living wage.

From The Daily Beast

She wants to increase the minimum wage up to a living wage—$16.70/hour and indexed to inflation—gradually by 2022.

From The Daily Beast

Many states and cities are acting to create higher-wage ecosystems through minimum-wage and living-wage laws and ordinances.

From The Daily Beast

On the other hand, it must be remembered that in such a climate the "living wage" is necessarily lower than in England.

From Project Gutenberg

Discuss the "living wage," and question whether this should not depend on competence.

From Project Gutenberg

The American equivalent of a government-guaranteed right to employment and a living wage was the "right to organize."

From Project Gutenberg

The social argument: it is for the common good that the average employee should be paid a living wage.

From Project Gutenberg

As a consequence competition will often depress the price below the point where it will yield a living wage to them.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• minimum wage