Hourly Wage: Meaning and Usage

Meaning 1：hourly wage (Hourly Wage)

Hourly Wage 🔊

/ˈaʊərli weɪdʒ/

Money paid for each hour of work, not a fixed monthly amount.

hourly wage 🔊

➕

/ˈaʊərli weɪdʒ/

Money paid to an employee for each hour they work, typically used for part-time, temporary, or non-salaried positions.

📁 Category：Social Economy 🔖 Level：初级

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Derived from 'hour' (a unit of time) + '-ly' (forming adjectives/adverbs) and 'wage' (from Old Northern French 'wagier', to pledge or pay).

💡 Mnemonic

Think of a clock ticking: each hour, your wallet gets a small boost. Hourly wage = time is money.

📖 Example

She started a new part-time job with an hourly wage of twenty dollars. 🔊 She started a new part-time job with an hourly wage of twenty dollars.

🔗 Collocations

negotiate an hourly wage – to discuss and agree on the pay rate per hour

minimum hourly wage – the legally lowest amount an employer can pay per hour

competitive hourly wage – a per-hour pay rate that is attractive compared to similar jobs

🔄 Synonyms

hourly pay (n.) – another term for hourly wage, emphasizing the payment per hour

time-based wage (n.) – a wage calculated on the duration of work rather than output

per-hour compensation (n.) – total remuneration (including benefits) per hour of work

🚫 Antonyms

salary (n.) – a fixed regular payment, typically paid monthly or annually, not tied to hours worked

annual income (n.) – total earnings over a year, often from multiple sources or fixed salary

🌱 Derivatives

hourly (adj./adv.) –

wage (v.) –

📖 Cultural Story

The concept of hourly wage became widespread during the Industrial Revolution when factory workers were paid per hour of labor, replacing earlier piecework or daily rates. It remains a standard for part-time and non-exempt jobs.