standard of living

noun phrase

1
: the necessities, comforts, and luxuries enjoyed or aspired to by an individual or group
2
: a minimum of necessities, comforts, or luxuries held essential to maintaining a person or group in customary or proper status or circumstances

Examples of standard of living in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Studies have shown that children of separated parents can negatively impact their standard of living, according to a French demographic study institute INED. Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 20 Mar. 2024 Without significant policy change, more and more of the government’s annual budget will consist of interest payments; government borrowing will crowd out private investment; future interest rates, inflation, and taxes will be higher; and American’s standard of living will decline. Drew Gonshorowski, National Review, 12 Feb. 2024 As laid out by Lin and Ng, the Chinese immigrants who settled in Argentina in the 1990s were single-mindedly focused on making money and raising their standard of living. Lautaro Grinspan, NBC News, 2 Feb. 2024 Particularly in today’s world, where there are no shortage of challenges. TV News Reports: Many Americans believe their standard of living is worse than their parents. Fortune Editors, Fortune, 20 Dec. 2023 Let your mind wander, and reach out to people in the know who can point you in a direction that sparks your imagination and encourages you to use your skills to raise your standard of living. Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2024 The agency is grasping for ways to improve the standard of living. Corey Kilgannon, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2024 This will not fundamentally alter our standard of living, nor deprive our children, nor harm our nations’ economic growth. Chuck Collins, Fortune, 17 Jan. 2024 Six decades later, the nation has made tremendous strides, including a sizable reduction in the poverty rate as Americans enjoy an improved standard of living. Angela Rachidi, National Review, 8 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'standard of living.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of standard of living was in 1825

Dictionary Entries Near standard of living

Cite this Entry

“Standard of living.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standard%20of%20living. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

standard of living

: the necessities, comforts, and luxuries that a person or group is accustomed to

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