sal ‧ a ‧ ry S2 W3 /ˈsæləri/ BrE AmE noun ( plural salaries ) [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: salarium 'money to pay for salt' , from sal 'salt' ]
money that you receive as payment from the organization you work for, usually paid to you every month ⇨ wage , pay :
The average salary for a teacher is $39,000 a year.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ earn/get/receive a salary
She’s now earning a good salary as an interpreter.
▪ be on a salary British English (=be earning a salary)
He won’t tell me what salary he’s on.
▪ command a salary formal (=be able to get a particular salary)
Which graduates command the highest salaries?
▪ pay somebody a salary
Large companies often pay better salaries.
▪ offer somebody a salary
We offer competitive salaries to graduates.
▪ increase sb’s salary
His salary was increased to £80,000 a year.
▪ cut sb’s salary (=reduce someone’s salary)
They will cut salaries before they cut jobs.
■ adjectives
▪ high/good
She moved to a job with a higher salary.
▪ low
It sounds an interesting job, but the salary is too low.
▪ a six-figure salary (=one over £100,000 or $100,000)
He’s now a top executive with a six-figure salary.
▪ annual salary
His annual salary is $200,000.
▪ monthly salary
What's your monthly salary?
▪ current salary
His current salary is just over £30,000 a year.
▪ basic/base salary (=the basic amount that someone is paid)
You get a basic salary, and then other benefits on top.
▪ starting salary (=the salary someone gets when they start a job)
The starting salary for a hotel manager is $26,400.
▪ final salary
Your pension is based on a proportion of your final salary.
■ salary + NOUN
▪ a salary increase
He was given a huge salary increase.
▪ a salary cut (=a decrease in someone’s salary)
The workforce agreed to take salary cuts.
▪ the salary scale/structure (=the list of increasing salaries that someone in a job can earn)
He is almost at the top of his salary scale.
■ phrases
▪ a drop/cut in salary (=a reduction in salary)
He couldn’t afford to take a drop in salary.
▪ an increase/rise in salary
They were offered a 10% increase in salary.
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THESAURUS
▪ salary noun [countable] the money that you receive regularly for doing your job, usually paid to you every month. Salary is usually used for professional jobs such as teachers, managers, doctors etc:
Nurses earn a basic salary of £21,250.
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Her salary is paid directly into her bank account.
▪ pay noun [uncountable] the money you receive for doing a job:
The pay is pretty good.
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Teachers are asking for higher pay.
▪ wages noun [plural] ( also wage [singular] ) the money that someone is paid every week by their employer, especially someone who works in a shop or factory:
Practically all my wages go on housing and transport to work.
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The average weekly wage was £350.
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a wage increase
▪ income noun [uncountable and countable] the money that you receive regularly for doing your job, and from things such as a business or investments:
The amount of tax you have to pay depends on your income.
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People on low incomes are finding it difficult to pay their fuel bills.
▪ earnings noun [plural] the total amount of money you earn from any job you do – used especially when the amount is different each month or year:
The average worker’s earnings have not kept up with inflation.