nominal wages

plural noun

: wages measured in money as distinct from actual purchasing power

Examples of nominal wages in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Together, employees’ real disposable income, after accounting for cost-sharing, has effectively declined even as nominal wages grew. Virgil Bretz, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025 Government data shows that while nominal wages have risen every month since December 2021, real wages have fallen year on year for more than 30 of the 41 months since. Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 7 July 2025 While nominal wages increased by 5.1 percent in 2022, real wages actually dropped by 1.7 percent. John Yoo and John Shu, Newsweek, 23 Jan. 2025 This means that even though Americans’ nominal wages have increased, their real wages have declined as their dollars buy less. Ron Paul, Orange County Register, 5 Mar. 2024 See All Example Sentences for nominal wages

Word History

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nominal wages was in 1814

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Nominal wages.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nominal%20wages. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on nominal wages

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!