minimum wage

noun

Synonyms of minimum wagenext
1
: living wage
2
: the lowest wage paid or permitted to be paid
specifically : a wage fixed by legal authority or by contract as the least that may be paid either to employed persons generally or to a particular category of employed persons

Examples of minimum wage in a Sentence

Congress will vote on a bill to raise the minimum wage.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In one example, the institution’s claim that California’s minimum wage law for fast-food workers had devastated the job market for those workers was tripped up by its failure to recognize the effect of seasonal adjustments in employment statistics. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Whitehead, the Green Party candidate, is a warehouse supervisor who has advocated for expanding access to health care and raising the federal minimum wage. — Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026 In the series, a young man buried in debt takes a part-time job paying 50 times the minimum wage, at a staffing agency where every shift could kill him. — Ophélie Surcouf, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026 Bottoms called for raising the minimum wage for state employees and creating a path to free technical and community college. — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for minimum wage

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of minimum wage was in 1860

Rhymes for minimum wage

See All Rhymes for minimum wage

Browse Nearby Words

minimum security prison
minimum wage
minimum weight
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Cite this Entry

“Minimum wage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minimum%20wage. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

minimum wage

noun
: a wage fixed (as by law) as the least that may be paid to employed persons

Legal Definition

minimum wage

noun
: a wage fixed by contract or especially by law as the least that may be paid either to employees generally or to a particular category of employees compare scale

More from Merriam-Webster on minimum wage

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for minimum wage

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about minimum wage

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