standard of living

noun phrase

1
: the necessities, comforts, and luxuries enjoyed or aspired to by an individual or group
2
: a minimum of necessities, comforts, or luxuries held essential to maintaining a person or group in customary or proper status or circumstances

Examples of standard of living in a Sentence

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.
Since the pandemic, Gallup finds more young adults downbeat on their personal relationships, on feeling active and on feeling satisfied with their standard of living. — Scott Clement, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026 The Living Wage pilot was launched in partnership with a cotton gin in Gujarat, India, to better understand the gap between workers’ earnings and what is required for a decent standard of living. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026 Rest assured, the New York State AFL-CIO will lead the fight every single day to raise the standard of living and quality of life of all working people. — Mario Cilento, New York Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026 When the 12-hour dockyard shifts were reduced to 10-hour, workers felt their already precarious standards of living threatened. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 24 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for standard of living

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of standard of living was in 1825

Rhymes for standard of living

See All Rhymes for standard of living

Browse Nearby Words

standard money
standard of living
standard of perfection
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Standard of living.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standard%20of%20living. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

standard of living

: the necessities, comforts, and luxuries that a person or group is accustomed to

More from Merriam-Webster on standard of living

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about standard of living

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All