wage
gb/wˈeɪd͡ʒ/ us/wˈeɪd͡ʒ/
A2
English
~ 1500
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
entity
1
Money paid for work done
Money that a worker gets regularly for doing a job.
Usage pattern:
[someone] earns [a wage]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'wage' with 'salary'; 'wage' is often used for hourly or weekly pay, while 'salary' is usually yearly pay.
Synonyms
salary (Usually refers to a fixed annual amount, often for professional jobs, not hourly or daily pay.)
Antonyms
unemployment benefits (Payments received when not working, rather than money earned from work.)
Collocations
minimum wage
|hourly wage
|weekly wage
|living wage
|wage increase
Themes
business
|employment
|economics
|work
|finance
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The company offers a competitive wage to all employees.
- She earns a higher wage than most of her colleagues.
- Rising living costs mean the minimum wage needs to be increased.
- The strike was over low wages and long hours.
- He took a part-time job with an hourly wage of $15.
Learner examples
- I get my wage every Friday.
- Her wage is higher than mine.
- He works hard for his wage.
- They want a better wage.
- The wage is not enough to pay rent.
Verb
B2
action
2
To carry out a war or campaign
To start and continue a fight, war, or effort against something.
Usage pattern:
to wage [a war/campaign/battle] (against/on [something])
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse 'wage' as a verb with the noun meaning 'pay'. As a verb, it is almost always used with words like 'war', 'battle', or 'campaign'.
Synonyms
conduct (A more formal term for organizing and carrying out an activity such as a war or campaign.)
Antonyms
cease (To stop fighting or end a campaign.)
Collocations
wage war
|wage battle
|wage campaign
|wage fight
Themes
politics
|conflict
|law
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The rebels vowed to wage war until their demands were met.
- They are waging a campaign against corruption.
- The country is waging a battle on poverty.
- Activists waged a long struggle for equal rights.
Learner examples
- The army will wage war on the enemy.
- They wage a fight against crime.
- We wage a campaign for cleaner air.
- The group wages war on drugs.
Grammar
Dictionary form
wage
IPA
GB/wˈeɪd͡ʒ/
US/wˈeɪd͡ʒ/
Syllables & stress
wage (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (wage)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: wage
- Plural: wages
Verb
- Base: wage
- 3rd Person Singular: wages
- Present Participle: waging
- Past: waged
Word family
Expressions
living wage
1/lˈɪvɪŋ wˈeɪd͡ʒ/
fixed phrase
Pay enough for basic needs
An amount of money someone needs to earn to pay for basic living costs like food and housing.
Examples
- Campaigners are calling for a living wage for all workers.
- He earns well above the living wage.
wage war
1/wˈeɪd͡ʒ wˈɔɹ/
fixed phrase
Start and continue armed conflict
To fight in a war or try very hard to stop or change something.
Examples
- The two nations decided to wage war after months of tension.
- Environmental groups are waging war on pollution.
minimum wage
1/mˈɪnəməm wˈeɪd͡ʒ/
fixed phrase
Lowest legal pay per hour
The smallest amount of money per hour that a worker can be paid by law.
Examples
- The government raised the minimum wage to help low-income workers.
- Many workers earn only the minimum wage.
- Many workers earn just the minimum wage.
- The government will increase the minimum wage next year.