salary
Americannoun
-
salaries
plural
noun
verb
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?
Synonym Usage
See pay 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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:
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.
Vocabulary lists containing salary
Labor Day Lexicon: Words That Put You To Work
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
As to whether the pay is commensurate with the required work commitment, only Khosla Ventures knows: It didn’t include a salary range in the posting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Stacking benefits on top of a good salary makes that more likely.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The 2025 University Funding Law calls for inflation-linked salary increases dated to December 2023, as well as the restoration of student scholarships and more funding for university operations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Nor has it factored in players who may feel they have missed out on salary increases, or triggered payments, for how their club might have performed.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The letter need not be long, for it was simply intended to let the steward know how much salary she was owed.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Victoria Coronel, a student at the University of Matanza in Buenos Aires province, echoed some of the French students' grievances, including "broken things don't get fixed" and teachers leaving the profession because of low salaries.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Fifpro was unable to provide average salaries per league as the report focused on regions rather than individual countries.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Teams are put in place to ensure the comedian can focus on generating jokes while they scheme new ways to metastasize its distribution and justify their own salaries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
It also sweetened advertised salaries for new captains and first officers, according to its website.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
On weekdays Mother’s a secretary in a navy office, trusted to count out salaries in cash at the end of each month.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
