salary

American  

[sal-uh-ree] / ˈsæl ə ri /

noun

plural

salaries

1. a fixed compensation periodically paid to a person for regular work or services.

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salary British  

/ ˈsælərɪ /

noun

1. a fixed regular payment made by an employer, often monthly, for professional or office work as opposed to manual work Compare wage

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verb

1. (tr) to pay a salary to

Usage

What is a salary? A salary is a fixed, regular payment in exchange for work. This is different from earning a fee that depends on how many hours you work (earning a fixed rate per hour) or how much work you do, sometimes called piecework. When you earn a salary, it is usually stated as the amount of money you will receive in one year for doing the work (before any taxes are paid). You will then be paid in equal amounts each pay period over the course of that year, even when you are on a paid vacation. How often you are paid will vary from company to company, with every other week and twice a month being most common. To salary someone is to pay them a salary. A salaried employee is someone who is paid a salary instead of paid another way, such as paid by the hour. Example: How can they expect me to live my best life when I’m paid on such a low salary?

Related Words

See pay ¹.

Other Word Forms

• salaryless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of salary

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English salarie, from Anglo-French, from Latin salārium “money given to soldiers to buy salt, salt money.” See sal, -ary

Compare meaning

How does salary compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• stipend vs. salary

Explanation

The pay or wages you earn for doing your job is called your salary. You might prefer your low-paying job to one with a higher salary because you have so much fun with your co-workers. Salary comes from the Latin word salarium, which also means "salary" and has the root sal, or "salt." In ancient Rome, it specifically meant the amount of money allotted to a Roman soldier to buy salt, which was an expensive but essential commodity. Today, salt is an inexpensive purchase at the grocery store, and your salary is certainly to be paid in your country's currency.

Example Sentences

How do you advocate for yourself without coming across as whiny or dragging a coworker into the conversation when they probably never intended to reveal their salary?

From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026

Nurses at major city hospitals also held their largest and longest strike in city history earlier this year, securing salary increases of more than 12% over the course of the three-year contract.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

It is not clear what the salary was for as Marcinko was no longer working as a model.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

For the time being, Paintsil is funding much of the academy’s work on his $4.5-million salary with the Galaxy, although Herbalife, the team’s longtime shirt sponsor, is helping with a sports nutrition program.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

“Now I shall have to waste part of my salary on clothes, which I hardly need,” she fumed, although it was not really true, for the elbows of her sleeves were worn rather thin.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• earnings
• fee
• income
• pay
• payroll
• stipend
• wage