income  wage(s)  pay  salary  earnings

These are all words for money that a person earns or receives for their work.

income money that a person receives for their work, or from investments or business: people on low incomes

wage(s) money that employees get for doing their job: a weekly wage of £200

pay money that employees earn for doing their job: The job offers good rates of pay.

salary money that employees earn or get for doing their job, usually paid every month

WAGE, PAY OR SALARY?

Pay is the most general of these three words. Employees who work in a factories, etc. get their wages each week. Employees who work in offices or professional people such as teachers or doctors receive a salary that is paid each month, but is usually expressed as an annual figure.

earnings money that a person earns from their work: a rise in average earnings for factory workers.

INCOMEE OR EARNINGS?

A person’s earnings are money that they have earned for doing a job. They do not include unearned income which the person did nothing to earn, such as interest on a savings account at a bank. An income is typically seen as a regular amount that you can rely on. Earnings are whatever sb manages to earn and may vary from month to month or year to year.

PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS

  (a/an) income/wage(s)/pay/salary/earnings of/from/for…

  to be on a(n) income/wage/salary of

  a(n) cut/drop/fall/rise/increase in (a/an) income/wage(s)/pay/salary/earnings

  a wage/pay/salary claim/freeze/cut/increase/rise/raise