salary
HighFormal to neutral; core business, administrative, and professional vocabulary.
Definition
Meaning
A fixed regular payment, typically paid on a monthly basis but often expressed as an annual sum, made by an employer to an employee, especially a professional or white-collar worker.
Compensation for work or services, often implying a professional or managerial position (as opposed to hourly wages). Can be used metaphorically to refer to non-monetary compensation (e.g., 'the salary of sin is death').
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Historically, 'salary' derives from Latin 'salarium' ('salt money'), the allowance paid to Roman soldiers to buy salt. It implies regularity and a fixed amount, distinguishing it from wages (often hourly) and commissions (performance-based).
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is largely identical. In the UK, 'remuneration' or 'package' might be used more formally. In the US, 'compensation' is a very common corporate synonym.
Connotations
Both carry the same core meaning. In the UK, it may slightly more strongly imply a professional or administrative position paid monthly. In the US, it's a universal term for non-hourly pay.
Frequency
Extremely high frequency in both variants, with no significant disparity.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Subject] earns/draws/commands a salary of [amount][Subject] is on a salary of [amount][Subject] negotiated a higher salaryThe salary is paid [monthly/annually]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Salary slave”
- “More than my job's worth (UK, implying strict adherence to job description for the salary)”
- “To be worth one's salt (derived from same root)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
The cornerstone of employment contracts and HR discussions. 'The total compensation package includes base salary, bonus, and benefits.'
Academic
Used in economics, sociology, and business studies discussing labour markets, income inequality, and professional compensation.
Everyday
Common in discussions about jobs, careers, and personal finance. 'What's the salary like for that role?'
Technical
In payroll, accounting, and HRIS (Human Resource Information Systems), it refers to the gross periodic payment before deductions.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The position is salaried at £45,000 per annum.
- She is salaried, so she doesn't claim overtime.
American English
- The job is salaried, meaning you're exempt from hourly wage laws.
- He salaried his employees on a bi-weekly basis.
adjective
British English
- He is in a salaried position.
- The salaried staff have different benefits.
American English
- She is a salaried employee.
- We are reviewing our salaried workforce.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- She gets her salary every month.
- His salary is not very high.
- I was offered a job with a good starting salary.
- The company reviews salaries every January.
- Negotiating your salary is an important part of accepting a new job.
- Her annual salary increased by 5% after the promotion.
- The remuneration package includes a competitive base salary, a performance-related bonus, and private healthcare.
- Executive salaries have become a topic of public and shareholder scrutiny.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a SALt cellar filled with money. SALt + ARY. This connects to its origin – Roman soldiers were given money for SALT.
Conceptual Metaphor
SALARY IS A FLUID (e.g., 'salary stream', 'frozen salaries'), SALARY IS A MEASURE OF WORTH (e.g., 'he commands a high salary').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'зарплата' (wages/salary) which is a direct equivalent. The trap is conceptual: in Russian contexts, 'оклад' (base salary) is a key distinction often lost in translation. English 'salary' typically encompasses the total fixed regular pay.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'salary' for hourly or casual work (prefer 'wages').
- Saying 'a salary' instead of 'a salary of...' or just 'salary' uncountably (e.g., 'Salary is paid monthly.').
- Misspelling as 'salery'.
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is the LEAST likely to be described with the word 'salary'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
A salary is a fixed regular annual sum, typically paid monthly, for professional/white-collar work. Wages are typically hourly or weekly pay for blue-collar or manual work.
It can be both. Used generally ('Salary is important'), it's uncountable. When referring to a specific amount ('a high salary', 'salaries in London'), it's countable.
Yes, but it's less common. The verb form 'to salary' means to pay a fixed salary to someone. The adjective 'salaried' is far more frequent.
It refers to the gross amount of money earned before income tax and other deductions (like national insurance or pension contributions) are taken out.
Collections
Part of a collection
Work and Jobs
A2 · 49 words · Jobs, professions and the world of work.
Workplace Vocabulary
B1 · 48 words · Professional language for the working environment.