wage-earner

B2 Topic:Work & Careers

US /ˈweɪdʒˌɝː.nɚ/ UK /ˈweɪdʒˌɜː.nə/ See IPA manual

Freq #280412

Meanings

1

noun
a person who works in return for wages or a salary, especially as distinguished from an employer or someone living on investments

Inflation reduced the purchasing power of the average wage-earner.
2

noun
a person whose earnings provide all or much of a household's financial support

After her partner became ill, she was the family's sole wage-earner.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who works in... employeepaid workerwageworker

2 noun · a person whose earnings... breadwinner provider

Opposites

employer

Word family

Derived forms wage-earning

Related forms wage earner worker employee salary

Etymology

A compound of wage and earner, recorded in English since the nineteenth century. Wage entered Middle English through Anglo-Norman wage, ultimately from a Germanic word for a pledge; earner is the agent noun of earn. The hyphenated form has long existed alongside the open form wage earner.

Topics

Work & Careers

External links

# wage-earner

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈweɪdʒˌɝː.nɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈweɪdʒˌɜː.nə/
**Frequency rank:** 280412

## Meanings
1. a person who works in return for wages or a salary, especially as distinguished from an employer or someone living on investments
2. a person whose earnings provide all or much of a household's financial support

## Examples
- Inflation reduced the purchasing power of the average wage-earner.
- After her partner became ill, she was the family's sole wage-earner.

## Synonyms
- employee
- paid worker
- wageworker
- breadwinner

## Antonyms
- employer

## Derived Forms
- wage-earning

## Related Forms
- wage
- earner
- worker
- employee
- salary

## Etymology
A compound of wage and earner, recorded in English since the nineteenth century. Wage entered Middle English through Anglo-Norman wage, ultimately from a Germanic word for a pledge; earner is the agent noun of earn. The hyphenated form has long existed alongside the open form wage earner.

## Topics
- Work & Careers

markdown