pay grade

noun

: a level of compensation for work especially when understood to reflect responsibility and authority

"People listen to you regardless of your pay grade," a Goldman managing director told me. "There is a real respect for the individual voice."—

John Cassidy

—often used figuratively

The unanswerable questions ascend into the skies, far above your pay grade, whatever it may be.—

Robert W. Lucky

Unfortunately … he appears to think the task of community development is below his pay grade.—

Faith Bautista

No one will read this book and come away wondering if steroids really work. Oh, they work. They bump a competitor up a whole pay grade—from finishing in the middle of the pack in the final heat to breaking the tape and collecting the winner's bonus.—

Michael Sokolove

Examples of pay grade 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.

This leads to a hilarious scene where Flyte, working well below her pay grade, is playing Giti’s babysitter. —

Scott Tobias, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2024 But any big decisions are made a few rungs above his pay grade. —

William Pesek, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024 In practice, temporary employees often wind up doing work far above their pay grade. —

Nick Bowlin, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 Those are worthy discussions, and there are people above my pay grade who should have them. —

James Nestor, Outside Online, 18 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for pay grade