/ ˈɪnkʌm; NAmE ; -kəm/ noun
[ C , U ] the money that a person, a region, a country, etc. earns from work, from investing money, from business, etc. :
people on high / low incomes
a weekly disposable income (= the money that you have left to spend after tax, etc.) of £200
a rise in national income
They receive a proportion of their income from the sale of goods and services.
Tourism is a major source of income for the area.
higher / middle / lower income groups
—compare expenditure
••
SYNONYMS
income
wage / wages ♦ pay ♦ salary ♦ earnings
These are all words for money that a person earns or receives for their work.
income
money that a person receives for their work, or from investments or business:
people on low incomes
wage / wages
money that employees get for doing their job, usually paid every week:
a weekly wage of £200
pay
money that employees earn for doing their job:
The job offers good rates of pay.
salary
money that employees earn get for doing their job, usually paid every month.
wage, pay or salary?
Pay is the most general of these three words. Employees who work in factories, etc. get their wages each week. Employees who work in offices or professional people such as teachers or doctors receive a salary that is paid each month, but is usually expressed as an annual figure.
earnings
money that a person earns from their work:
a rise in average earnings for factory workers
income or earnings?
A person's earnings are money that they have earned for doing a job. They do not include unearned income which the person did nothing to earn, such as interest on a savings account at a bank. An income is typically seen as a regular amount that you can rely on. Earnings are whatever sb manages to earn and may vary from month to month or year to year.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
(a / an) income / wage(s) / pay / salary / earnings of / from / for...
to be on a(n) income / wage / salary of ...
a(n) cut / drop / fall / rise / increase in (a / an) income / wage(s) / pay / salary / earnings
a wage / pay / salary claim / freeze / cut / increase / rise / raise
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (in the sense entrance, arrival , now only Scots ): in early use from Old Norse innkoma , later from in + come . The current sense dates from the late 16th cent.