minimum wage
/ˌmɪnɪməm ˈweɪd͡ʒ/
"minimum-wage" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“minimum wage” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The lowest rate at which an employer must legally pay an employee, usually expressed as pay per hour.
Corpus desk
Index EN-minimum-wage · minimum wage · English
minimum wage · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | minimum wage |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌmɪnɪməm ˈweɪd͡ʒ/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “minimum wage” in English
Rare enough to double-check
minimum wage is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌmɪnɪməm ˈweɪd͡ʒ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The lowest rate at which an employer must legally pay an employee, usually expressed as pay per hour.".
minimum wage doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From minimum (adjective) + wage. The correct English form is minimum wage, spelled M-I-N-I-M-U-M- -W-A-G-E.
Definition
- 1The lowest rate at which an employer must legally pay an employee, usually expressed as pay per hour.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how minimum wage appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
A part of the Bill went to interfere in the bargains made between the master manufacturer and his workmen, upon a principle which could not fail to produce the most mischievous consequences; and he could not help observing, with relation to this point, that the idea of some persons, that a minimum of wages would be beneficial to the workmen employed, was…
The man who before found nothing to do now finds employment at some rate; while he who formerly worked for the minimum wages of mere labor will now, if energetic and skillful, find employment in some other capacity where his earnings will be largely increased.
Etymology
From minimum (adjective) + wage.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.