minimum wage
noun
the lowest wage payable to employees in general or to designated employees as fixed by law or by union agreement.
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minimum wage
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minimum-wage
minimum-wageadjectiveof or relating to a minimum wage.
minimum wage
1 Americannoun
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minimum wages
plural
minimum-wage
2
American
[min-uh-muhm-weyj]
/ ˈmɪn ə məmˈweɪdʒ /
adjective
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of or relating to a minimum wage.
minimum-wage demands.
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paid or earning a minimum wage.
a minimum-wage worker.
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paying a minimum wage.
a minimum-wage job.
minimum wage
British
noun
minimum wage
Cultural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of minimum wage
First recorded in 1855–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"A person earning minimum wage doesn't have the means to eat well or have a decent quality of life," said Ramos.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
California also raised the state minimum wage for fast-food employees from $16 to $20, something Sfeir said could account for some of the change.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
This allows them in many cases to ignore things like minimum wage requirements, workplace safety and access to social security.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
He has continued this crusade, recently endorsing a $20 minimum wage and speaking out against the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
And the foot soldiers earned just $3-30 an hour, less than the minimum wage.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Hare coursers were linked to crimes involving significant sums of money, says Lacks-Kelly, not "minimum-wage crimes".
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Missouri and Arkansas voters have approved five minimum-wage ballot measures in the past 20 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
And teens are competing with older workers for similar jobs: People aged 25 and over accounted for 56.9% of minimum-wage workers in 2024.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
Among their supporters are renters, immigrants, young adults, the underserved, and the frontline workers in the minimum-wage economy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2026
In fact, most of J. T.’s foot soldiers also held minimum-wage jobs in the legitimate sector to supplement their skimpy illicit earnings.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
