wages Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing
    reward; payoff.
    • the wages of sin is death
    • virtue is its own reward
  2. noun something that remunerates
    wage; pay; earnings; salary; remuneration.
    • wages were paid by check
    • he wasted his pay on drink
    • they saved a quarter of all their earnings
  3. verb carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns)
    wage; engage.
    • Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe
  4. verb move from side to side
    wag; waggle.
    • The happy dog wagged his tail

WordNet

Wa"ges noun plural in termination, but singular in signification
Etymology
Plural of wage; cf. F. gages, pl., wages, hire. See Wage, n.
Definitions
  1. A compensation given to a hired person for services; price paid for labor; recompense; hire. See Wage, n., 2.
    The wages of sin is death. Rom. vi. 23.
    Encyc. Brit. Syn. -- See under Wage, n.

Webster 1913