Synonyms

base pay

American

noun

pay received for a given work period, as an hour or week, but not including additional pay, as for overtime work.

Etymology

Origin of base pay

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Amazon’s base pay on average for software engineers and research scientists is less than Meta, OpenAI, Apple and Anthropic, according to market-research firm Levels.fyi.

From The Wall Street Journal

The FTC alleged Walmart caused drivers with its delivery service Spark to lose tens of millions of dollars worth of earnings by showing them inflated figures for what they could expect to earn from pre-tips selected by customers at checkout, base pay and special incentive earnings opportunities.

From The Wall Street Journal

The chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Anthony Marrone, made $475,000 in base pay in 2024, according to county data.

From Los Angeles Times

Some agencies’ advertisements say surrogates can expect six figure-payouts—without disclosing that base pay is much lower, and that higher payments usually only take place in the event of major medical complications.

From The Wall Street Journal

A board-certified psychiatrist at Atascadero State Hospital — some of the highest paid state employees — can earn more than $397,000 in base pay.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023