minimum wage
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: The lowest hourly, daily, or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. It is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement (such as a collective bargaining agreement).
Usage
The term "minimum wage" is used to discuss labor laws, economics, social policy, and workers' rights. It typically functions as a singular noun, often preceded by "the." It can be the subject or object of a sentence.
Examples
- The federal minimum wage is set by Congress.
- Many workers are struggling because the minimum wage has not increased in years.
- The new law will raise the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour.
- Do you think the minimum wage should be a living wage?
Advanced Usage
- "To earn minimum wage": To be paid at the lowest legally allowable rate.
- Even with a college degree, she was only earning minimum wage at the cafe.
- "Minimum-wage" (as an attributive adjective): Used before a noun to describe something related to or earning the minimum wage.
- He worked a series of minimum-wage jobs after high school.
- The proposal aims to help minimum-wage workers.
Variants and Related Words
- Living wage (noun): A wage that is high enough to maintain a normal standard of living.
- Prevailing wage (noun): The average wage paid to similarly employed workers in a specific occupation in the area.
- Subminimum wage (noun): A wage rate below the standard minimum wage, sometimes legally allowed for specific groups like students or tipped employees.
Synonyms
- Base pay
- Lowest legal wage
- Wage floor
Antonyms
- Maximum wage (theoretical)
- Living wage (in context, as a contrast to an insufficient minimum wage)
Related Phrases
- To raise/lift/increase the minimum wage: To make the legal wage floor higher.
- Activists are campaigning to raise the minimum wage.
- To be paid/earn at/on minimum wage: To receive compensation at that specific rate.
- Most of the staff are paid at minimum wage.
- Minimum wage law/legislation: The legal statutes that establish the wage floor.
- The minimum wage law was first introduced in the 1930s.
Noun
- the lowest wage that an employer is allowed to pay; determined by contract or by law