minimum-wage

IPA/ˌmɪnɪməm ˈweɪdʒ/
IPA/ˌmɪnɪməm ˈweɪdʒ/

minimum-wage — noun

1. the lowest hourly rate that companies are legally required to pay their workers,

1.nounB1
Definition

the lowest hourly rate that companies are legally required to pay their workers, set by government law rather than by individual employers

Example

The government raised the minimum wage by five percent this year to help low-income workers.

collocation: raise the minimum wage

Gita earns the minimum wage at a factory near Taichung.

collocation: earn the minimum wage

Common collocations
  • earn the minimum wage
  • pay the minimum wage
  • raise the minimum wage
  • increase the minimum wage
  • cut the minimum wage
  • minimum wage worker
  • minimum wage job
  • above the minimum wage
  • below the minimum wage
Synonyms
  • base pay

    broader term that includes minimum wage but also covers any agreed starting salary

  • statutory minimum

    formal term used especially in UK legal contexts

  • minimum hourly rate

    more explicit about the per-hour basis of the wage

Antonyms
  • living wage

    the amount actually needed to cover basic living costs, which may be higher than the legal minimum

Grammar Patterns

the minimum wage

minimum wage + noun

Usage Note

Often used with 'the' (the minimum wage). The hyphenated form 'minimum-wage' is common when used as a compound modifier before a noun, as in 'minimum-wage job' or 'minimum-wage worker'.

Common Mistakes

Taiwan has a minimum-wage of NT$190.
Taiwan has a minimum wage of NT$190.
The unhyphenated form is standard when used as a noun; the hyphenated form is used before another noun.

Word family

  • minimum-wage worker
    nounB1
  • minimum-wage job
    nounB1
  • minimum-wage earner
    nounB2
  • minimum-wage law
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four terms refer to wage floors, but they differ in scope and legal force. 'Minimum wage' is the concrete legal minimum set by government — you earn it by law if you work in a covered job. 'Living wage' is not a legal requirement in most places; it estimates what a worker actually needs to afford food, housing, and other basics in a specific city, which is often higher than the minimum wage. 'Base pay' is broader — it is the starting salary a specific employer offers before bonuses or overtime, which may be well above the legal floor. 'Statutory minimum' is a formal synonym for minimum wage, used mainly in British legal writing. Example: 'The living wage in London is about £13 per hour, but the statutory minimum wage is only £10.'

minimum wageliving wage ↗base paystatutory minimum

Common collocations

Nouns

  • wage increase
  • wage hike
  • wage floor
  • wage law

Adverbs

Phrases

  • raise the minimum wage
  • increase the minimum wage
  • earn the minimum wage
  • pay the minimum wage

Prepositions

  • above the minimum wage
  • below the minimum wage
  • at the minimum wage

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The term 'minimum wage' combines 'minimum' (from Latin 'minimus', meaning 'smallest') with 'wage' (from Old North French 'wage', meaning 'payment' or 'pledge'). The first minimum-wage laws were introduced in New Zealand and Australia in the 1890s, and the phrase entered general English usage around that time as a legal and economic term.

First known use

1860

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 1