I. wage 1 S2 W2 /weɪdʒ/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old North French ; Origin: 'guarantee, wage' ]
1 . [singular] ( also wages [plural] ) money you earn that is paid according to the number of hours, days, or weeks that you work ⇨ salary :
He earns a good wage.
wage increase (also wage rise )British English :
The wage increases will come into effect in June.
daily/weekly etc wage
a weekly wage of $250
wage levels/rates (=fixed amounts of money paid for particular jobs)
2 . a living wage money you earn for work that is enough to pay for the basic things that you need to live:
The church no longer paid a living wage.
3 . wage freeze an action taken by a company, government etc to stop wages increasing
4 . wage claim the amount of money asked for by workers as an increase in wages
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ high
The factory workers are demanding higher wages.
▪ low
There are high numbers of people on low wages.
▪ good
They were earning good wages.
|
Wages are good compared to other occupations.
▪ a decent wage (=one that is reasonable and allows you to buy what you need)
Jobs in the factories used to pay a decent wage, but those jobs are gone now.
▪ the hourly/daily/monthly etc wage
The average daily wage was £100.
▪ the minimum wage (=the lowest amount of money that an employer can legally pay to a worker)
a rise in the minimum wage
▪ the basic wage (=what someone earns before overtime pay, tips, or bonuses are added)
The basic wage paid at the factory is the lowest in the auto industry, but with bonuses, the total compensation is the highest.
▪ real wages (=a calculation of how much your wages will buy, usually compared to how much you were able to buy in the past)
Average real wages rose by 26% between 1919 and 1929.
■ wage + NOUN
▪ a wage increase/rise
The rail workers demanded a 20% wage increase.
▪ a wage reduction/cut
Those who kept their jobs had to take large wage cuts.
▪ wage levels/rates
Wage levels remained low during the 1930s.
■ verbs
▪ earn a wage
Both parents were earning a wage, yet money was still tight.
▪ pay a wage
Some firms still paid lower wages to female workers.
▪ raise wages
He was able to raise the wages of some key staff.
II. wage 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old North French ; Origin: wagier 'to give as a guarantee' , from wage ; ⇨ ↑ wage 1 ]
to be involved in a war against someone, or a fight against something
wage war (on somebody/something)
The police are waging war on drug pushers in the city.
wage a campaign/struggle/battle etc
The council has waged a vigorous campaign against the proposal.