Definition of salary noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

salary

noun

/ˈsæləri/

(plural salaries)

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money that employees receive for doing their job, especially professional employees or people working in an office, usually paid every month
- an annual salary of $40 000
- The average monthly salary for an unskilled worker is $550.
- on a salary (of something) She's on a salary of £24 000.
- She earned a six-figure salary.
- a 9 per cent salary increase
- (British English) He gets a basic salary plus commission.
- (North American English) base salary
- Chemical engineering grads are expected to get the biggest starting salaries.
- the closure of final salary pension schemes
- We have no money to pay staff salaries.
- The CEO received a salary of $1 million.
- The average annual salary for those jobs was $90 721.
compare wage
Synonyms income
incomewage/wages ▪ pay ▪ salary ▪ earningsThese 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 or every month:
a weekly wage of £400
pay money that employees earn for doing their job:
The job offers good rates of pay.
salary money that employees earn for doing their job, usually paid every month.
wage, pay or salary?Pay is the most general of these three words. In the past, employees who worked in factories, shops etc. got their wages each week, often paid in cash. These days they are more likely to be paid each month, directly into their bank account, but the term wage is still used for these kinds of jobs. 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
Patterns
- (a) high/low/basic income/wage/pay/salary/earnings
- to earn an income/a wage/your pay/a salary
- to be on a(n) income/wage/salary of…
Wordfinder
- bonus
- commission
- deduction
- earn
- overtime
- pay
- rise
- salary
- tax
- wage
Extra Examples
- It's impossible to bring up a family on such a low salary.
- US tech workers command six-figure salaries.
- Mr Kerry continued to draw his salary during the time of his absence.
- She raised his salary to $36 000.
- The position is rewarded with a generous salary package.
- The salary cap will be set at $49.5 million.
- Top salaries are liable for a higher rate of tax.
- What salary band will I be on after two years in the company?
- Workers are being asked to take a cut in salary.
- Your pension will be based on a proportion of your final salary.
- Texas has the lowest teacher salaries in America.
Topics Working lifea2, Moneya2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- big
- generous
- good
- …
verb + salary
- pay (somebody)
- command
- earn
- …
salary + verb
- increase
- rise
salary + noun
- package
- hike
- increase
- …
preposition
- on a salary
phrases
- an increase in salary
- a raise in salary
- a rise in salary
- …
See full entry
Word OriginMiddle English: from Anglo-Norman French salarie, from Latin salarium, originally denoting a Roman soldier's allowance to buy salt, from sal ‘salt’.

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See salary in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee salary in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Check pronunciation: salary

Nearby words

dressing

noun

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Food

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